Cover Art by Cecilia Setterdahl
Press release: September, 2007
Lilly Setterdahl ‘s latest book, Maiden of the Titanic, will be released by the Midwest Writer Center, Davenport, Iowa, in the fall of 2007. Lilly earned the right to publication by submitting the winning manuscript to a contest, co-sponsored by the Midwest Writing Center and Fidlar Printing Company, also located in Iowa .
The main character of the story is a Swedish-American “lady’s maid” traveling with a society family from Boston on the Titanic maiden voyage. When the liner sinks in the early morning of April 15, 1912 , an Italian lifeguard rescues the comatose girl from the bone-chilling waters of the North Atlantic . The book is an imagined tale of mistaken identity and two survivors.
Estimated publication date: October, 2007
Price: $11.95, 282 pages with cover art by Cecilia Svensson Setterdahl
Publisher: Midwest Writing Center , 225 E. Second Street , Suite 303 , Davenport , IA 52801 .
Booksignings are at the Midwest Writing Cetner, 225 E. 2nd Street, Davenport, Iowa (Bucktown Arts Building) Oct. 6th, 2-4 p.m., and Oct. 13th, 1202 p.m.
The book may also be purchased at Amazon Books
Lilly Setterdahl is the author or coauthor of eleven books of nonfiction, and numerous research articles dealing with the history and experiences of Swedish immigrants. Her major book titles are: Swedes in Moline, Illinois (2003), Minnesota Swedes, two volumes (1996 and 1999), Rockford Swedes (coauthored 1993), and, A Century of Song (1992).
She has chronicled her travels with her husband, Lennart Setterdahl, from coast to coast in the United States , parts of Canada , and Sydney , Australia , in search of Swedish-American archival material and oral histories, resulting in the book I Emigranternas spår: Människor vi mött,1959-1995, which was published in Sweden in 2002. On her frequent trips to Sweden , she is often asked to give presentations about her own and her husband’s work.
In 1989, Kvällsstunden, Västerås , Sweden , published her first historical novel, Banbrytaren, (The Trailblazer) as a serial novel.
She has also authored children’s stories, and is working on a creative nonfiction story, “Growing up in Sweden .”
Lilly is a native of Sweden and an American Citizen. She came to the United States in 1959, with her husband and two small sons. They settled in Cleveland , Ohio , where another son was born. In 1971, the family relocated to East Moline , Illinois , where she still resides.
In 2003, Lilly was recognized by the city of Moline with a plaque and a designated “Lilly Setterdahl Day” ( September 9, 2003 ). She has been honored with awards from the Royal Gustav Adolf Academy , the Swedish Emigrant Institute, the National Swedish Historical Society, the Swedish-America Day committee (Hans Mattson plaque), the Trolle-Ljungby community, and others.
Lilly has three sons and six grandchildren, living in three different countries, Switzerland , Norway , and the United States .
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