Tove Jansson’s Career and Life: A Guest Post from Sophia Jansson

My aunt, Tove Jansson, was always destined to be a great artist.  

Born in Helsinki, Finland in 1914, she grew up in a bohemian family. Her father was an acclaimed sculptor, her mother was a successful illustrator, and she was surrounded from a young age by poets, painters, and artists of all kinds. 

Still, it was rather impressive that she was awarded her first commissioned work and signed her first book contract at the age of 15 – an extraordinary start to a career that would span many decades and earn her the devotion of fans all over the world. 

Tove’s first passion was fine art, and she studied painting abroad in Sweden and France as well as working as an illustrator, most notably for a satirical magazine called Garm. But it was through the Moomin stories that she achieved worldwide fame. 

The very first Moomin story, the Moomins and the Great Flood, was originally published in 1945. In this story, Moomintroll and his mother, Moominmamma, have become separated from his father, Moominpappa. In their efforts to find him they travel far and wide and meet many interesting characters, before eventually being reunited in a place we come to know as Moominvalley. 

Eight chapter books followed, plus three beautiful picture books and many, many comic strips. 

The thing that remained constant was the importance of love, equality and courage – these values are a central part of the Moomin stories and life in Moominvalley, where everyone is welcome regardless of their differences.  

Perhaps the reason that these values of tolerance and acceptance were so important to Tove is that she felt somewhat of an outsider herself. She lived life according to her own rules – for example, she began her life-long relationship with her partner, the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä, at a time when it was still illegal to be gay in Finland – and enjoyed a career that defied simple categorisation. 

It has been a great honour to act as the guardian of Tove’s work and legacy for many years in my role as Creative Director of Moomin Characters, the company that Tove and my father Lars set up to manage all the requests she received in relation to her creations.  

I am so proud that her work remains so well loved, and it gives me great pleasure to see new readers discovering her stories and finding joy in them today.