VETLE LID LARSSEN was born in Stavanger in 1960, he is an award-winning Norwegian author and journalist. He has written for Norwegian papers such as Morgenbladet and Aftenposten. 

His literary debut came in 1990 with the critically acclaimed novel 2, and since then he has produced six more literary works – including documentary 1001 NATT (2013) and the autobiographical HVORDAN ELSKE EN FAR – OG OVERLEVE (2015). 

Larssen’s bestselling novel is LUCIAS SISTE REISE/THE LAST JOURNEY OF SAINT LUCY.

His new work DE STJERNEKYNDIGE/THE ASTROLOGERS was released in November 2023.

Agent Erik Larsson

THE LAST JOURNEY OF SAINT LUCY begins at the tomb of Saint Lucy in Syracuse where a puzzled Vetle Lid Larssen finds it empty. From here on, the reader is taken on a vivid journey throughout history, beginning with the horrible final days of a young Sicilian woman who was condemned for her strong faith but later revered as a saint.   

The journey of Saint Lucy continues even after her passing, spanning events such as the Muslim conquest of Italy in the 9th century, and the theft of her bones by the Viking Harald Hardrada a century later, bringing the remains to Constantinople. Later, her relics are rescued from Napoleon’s plundering of Venice, and then once more from the bombing of the city in 1945, and then we finally arrive in modern day. 

Vetle Lid Larssen made his breakthrough in 1990 with the critically acclaimed novel 2. He has worked with many of the big Norwegian dailies and has received several major literary awards. He spent five years researching THE LAST JOURNEY OF SAINT LUCY, a process he has described as “running fourteen marathons, over the finishing line, and straight into a brick wall”.

REVIEWS

’A tour de force through cultural history (...) Hold on!’
– Guri Hjeltnes, VG

’Almost ingenious (...) So lush and generous that it simply has to be read.’
- Cathrine Krøger, Dagbladet