The Emperor of Portugallia

by Selma Lagerlöf

"The Emperor of Portugallia" by Selma Lagerlöf is a novel published in 1914. Set in rural Värmland, it tells the story of Jan, a tenant farmer whose love for his daughter Glory Goldie transforms into obsession after she moves to Stockholm and stops writing. When letters cease, Jan retreats into fantasy, imagining himself as a great Emperor and his daughter as an empress. In his delusions, he challenges social hierarchies while awaiting her return, unaware of her true circumstances in the city.