{{Short description|Norwegian author}} {{Infobox person | image = | caption = | name = Kitty Lossius | birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|04|19|mf=y}} | birth_place = Åndalsnes, Norway | death_date = {{Death date and age|1981|11|26|1892|04|19|mf=y}} | death_place = Oslo, Norway | resting_place= | occupation = Author | yearsactive = | spouse = Robert Sperati<ref name="Hydle">{{cite book |last1=Hydle |first1=Halvdan |last2=Fikkan |first2=Kristian |last3=Hegna |first3=J. B. |title=Hvem skrev hva i de siste 25 år |date=1950 |publisher=Schibsted |location=Oslo |page=329}}</ref> | children = | mother = | father = | relatives = }}
'''Kitty Lossius''' (April 19, 1892 – November 26, 1981)<ref name=SNL>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Kitty Lossius |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget |location=Oslo |url=https://snl.no/Kitty_Lossius |accessdate=January 4, 2021 |year=2019 |language=no}}</ref> was a Norwegian teacher and novelist.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnsen |first1=Arne Odd |title=Kristiansunds historie: 1. halvb. Den store veksttid, 1814 |date=1963 |publisher=I kommisjon hos Barmans bokhandel og Sverdrups bokhandel |location=Kristiansund |page=749}}</ref><ref name="Espeland">{{cite book |last1=Espeland |first1=Arne |title=Norske skolefolk |date=1934 |publisher=Dreyer |location=Stavanger |page=797}}</ref> She had a publishing career that lasted nearly fifty years.
==Life and work== Lossius grew up in Kristiansund,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grimstad |first1=Leiv Arne |last2=Bjørlykke |first2=Liv Randi |last3=Ruset |first3=Arne |title=Springflod: forfattarane i Møre og Romsdal |date=1994 |publisher=Vista |location=Larsnes |isbn=8299217741 |page=141}}</ref> where she graduated from high school in 1908.<ref name="Espeland"/> She graduated as a teacher from Levanger Normal School in 1914,<ref name="Espeland"/><ref name="Johnson">{{cite book |last1=Johnsen |first1=Arne Odd |title=Kristiansunds historie. Bind 5: Den store veksttid, 1814–ca. 1900 |date=1965 |publisher=Barmans bokhandel |location=Kristiansund |page=745}}</ref> and she took a four-month course at the State Gymnastics School in 1917.<ref name="Espeland"/>
She debuted with the novel ''Ranka Paus'' (1919), and later she wrote the play ''Grobund'' (1920) and ten more novels and two books for young girls.<ref name="Lervik">{{cite book |author1=Åse Hiorth Lervik |author1-link=Åse Hiorth Lervik |title=Kvinneforskermaraton II |date=1992 |publisher=Universitetet i Tromsø. Nettverk for kvinner i forskning |location=Tromsø |isbn=8291167001 |pages=23–28 |editor1-last=Holmen |editor1-first=Tone |chapter=Kitty Lossius 'Grobund' (1920), et drama om kjønn og klasse}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sommerfeldt |first1=W. P. |title=Norske forfattere 1881–1920: personregister |date=1954 |publisher=Sverre Dahl |location=Oslo |page=90}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Isaksen |first1=Eva Husebø |title=Kvinneskjebner i Kitty Lossius forfatterskap. En analyse av romanene Ranka Paus og Pensionærer |date=1998 |publisher=Hovedoppgave i nordisk, Universitetet i Tromsø |location=Tromsø}}</ref>
Her books are described as "stamped with the character of Kristiansund."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aass |first1=Eivind |title=Byen som brant: Kristiansund 1900–1942 |date=1991 |publisher=I kommisjon hos Barmans bokhandel |location=Kristiansund |page=480}}</ref> Her debut novel is about a priest's wife that is an author and experiences her opinions colliding with the role of a priest's wife. The play ''Grobund'' is about contrasts between the bourgeoisie and the working class.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aasen |first1=Elisabeth |title=Kvinners spor i skrift: supplement til norsk litteraturhistorie |date=1986 |publisher=Samlaget |location=Oslo |isbn=8252128432 |pages=152, 156}}</ref> Her books are referred to both as entertaining literature<ref name="Lervik"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Norsk kvinnelitteraturhistorie Bind 2: 1900–1945 |date=1989 |publisher=Pax |location=Oslo |isbn=8253014333 |page=167}}</ref> and as psychologically realistic novels from a bourgeois environment.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dahl |first1=Willy |title=Nytt norsk forfatterleksikon |date=1971 |publisher=Gyldendal |location=Oslo |isbn=8205004773 |page=156}}</ref> The novel ''Enken og jomfruen'' (The Widow and the Maiden, 1954) is based on actual events; her grandfather's love story with an elderly widow.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Orten |first1=Per Eilert |title=Bygdabok for Aure. Bind 2: "Den nye dagen gryr": bygdabok for Aure 1800–1900: allmenn historie |date=2000 |publisher=Aure kommune |location=Aure |isbn=9788299752015 |page=372}}</ref>
==Family== Lossius's grandfather Caspar Kahrs Lossius (1799–1868) was a farmer and the mayor of Aure Municipality, and her father Caspar Kahrs Lossius (1844–1906) was a ship's captain and hotel owner.<ref name="Johnson"/> After her father's death, Lossius's mother Christine Magdalene (née Eberg)<ref>Klokkerbok for Grytten prestegjeld, Grytten sokn 1867-1909 (1539P), Fødte og døpte: 1892-06-19.</ref> took over running the hotel, and Lossius worked for a time in a bookstore.<ref>Folketelling 1910 for 1503 Kristiansund kjøpstad, Tellingskrets: 008, Bosted by: 0008 Storgaten, Leilighet: 03.</ref> She worked as a teacher in Kristiansund from 1915 to 1932, when she quit due to illness.<ref name="Espeland"/> In 1934 she was living in Oslo.<ref name="Espeland"/> She was married to the actor Robert Sperati.<ref name="Hydle"/>
==Bibliography== * 1919: ''Ranka Paus'' (Kristiania: Helge Erichsen) * 1920: ''Grobund'' (Kristiania: Helge Erichsen) * 1921: ''Pensionærer'' (Kristiania: Aschehoug) * 1922: ''Boggis & Co. – fortelling for unge piker'' (Kristiania: Aschehoug) * 1924: ''Lykken'' (Kristiania: Aschehoug) * 1925: ''Frøken Snobb og hjerterdame'' (Oslo: Aschehoug) * 1946: ''Familien Testmann'' (Oslo: Aschehoug) * 1947: ''Helene Lange gjør statur opp'' (Oslo: Aschehoug) * 1951: ''Rød måne'' (Oslo: Aschehoug) * 1954: ''Enken og jomfruen'' (Oslo: Aschehoug) * 1963: ''Christoffers ring'' (Oslo: Aschehoug) * 1964: ''Bare rett over gaten'' (Oslo: Aschehoug) * 1966: ''Måne i ne – variasjoner over et tema'' (Oslo: Aschehoug)
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lossius, Kitty}} Category:20th-century Norwegian women writers Category:Norwegian women educators Category:20th-century Norwegian educators Category:People from Kristiansund Municipality Category:1892 births Category:1981 deaths Category:20th-century women educators