Kerstin Thorvall-Falk was born in Eskilstuna and grew up in Sollefteå. After completing her upper secondary schooling, she trained at a school of advertising from 1945 to 1947 and worked as a fashion stylist, illustrator, journalist, and radio talker. She was married several times and had four children.
She made her debut in 1959 with the debate book Förstå mej, så förstår jag er, which she published together with Gustav Jonsson, began writing teenage fiction, and modernised the genre of girls’ books with her books Flicka i april, Flicka i Paris, and Flicka i verkligheten, which were published between 1961 and 1964. Kerstin Thorvall published more than forty books.
Many of her novels have autobiographical elements, such as the widely discussed Det mest förbjudna, 1976, in which she writes about female sexuality and settles scores with her mother. The novel was significant to the new literature of emancipation and won many readers, as did most of her works, for example Oskuldens död (N), 1977, and Ensam dam reser ensam (N), 1978. Her novel När man skjuter arbetare, 1993, an account of her parents’ marriage, was particularly well-received by the critics. I skuggan av oron (N) was published in 1995.
Additions by the editorial team 2011:
The above biography was first published in 1998. After this point, Kerstin Thorvall published the books Berättelsen om Signe, 1999, Provokationer, passioner, personer och en eller annan hyacint, 1999, Jag minns alla mina älskare och hur de brukade ta på mig, 2000, Nödvändigheten i att dansa, 2001, Upptäckten, 2003, and Jag är en grön bänk i Paris – Dikter 1965-1991, 2005.
