Author
Jansson is principally known as the author of the Moomin books — stories for children that involve Jansson's creations, the Moomins. They are a family of trolls who are white, round and furry in appearance, with large snouts that make them vaguely resemble hippopotamuses.
The first Moomin book,
The Moomins and the Great Flood, was written in 1945. Although the primary characters are Moominmamma and Moomintroll, most of the principal characters of later stories were only introduced in the next book, so
The Moomins and the Great Flood is frequently considered a "prequel" to the main series. The book was not a success (and was the last Moomin book to be translated into English), but the next two installments in the Moomin series,
Comet in Moominland (1946) and
Finn Family Moomintroll (1948; the original title
Trollkarlens Hatt translates to "The Magician's Hat"), brought Jansson fame.
The style of the Moomin books changed as time went by. The first books, up to
Moominland Midwinter (1957), are adventure stories including floods, comets, and supernatural events.
The Moomins and the Great Flood deals with Moominmamma and Moomintroll's plight through a dark and scary forest, where they encounter various dangers. In
Comet in Moominland a comet nearly destroys the Moominvalley (some critics have considered this an allegory of nuclear weapons).
Finn Family Moomintroll deals with adventures brought on by the discovery of a magician's hat.
The Exploits of Moominpappa (1950) tells the story of Moominpappa's adventurous youth and cheerfully parodies the genre of memoirs. Finally,
Moominsummer Madness (1955) pokes fun at the world of the theatre: the Moomins explore an empty theatre and perform Moominpappa's pompous hexametric melodrama.
Moominland Midwinter marks a turning point in the series. The books take on more realistic settings ("realistic" in the context of the Moomin universe) and the characters start to acquire some psychological depth.
Moominland in Midwinter focuses on Moomintroll, who wakes up in the middle of the winter (Moomins sleep from November to April, as mentioned on the back of the book), and has to cope with the strange and unfriendly world he finds. The short story collection
Tales from Moominvalley (1962) and the novels
Moominpappa at Sea (1965) and
Moominvalley in November (1970) are serious and psychologically searching books, far removed from the light-heartedness and cheerful humor of
Finn Family Moomintroll.
After
Moominvalley in November Tove Jansson stopped writing about Moomins and started writing for adults. The Summer Book is the best known of her adult fiction translated into English, a work of charm, subtlety and simplicity describing the summer stay on an island of a young girl and her grandmother.
Besides the Moomin novels and short stories, Tove Jansson also wrote and illustrated four original and highly popular picture books:
The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My (1952),
Who will Comfort Toffle? (1960),
The Dangerous Journey (1977), and
An Unwanted Guest (1980). As the Moomins' fame grew, two of the original novels were revised by Jansson and republished:
Comet in Moominland and
The Exploits of Moominpappa.
Painter and illustrator
Although she became known first and foremost as an author, Tove Jansson considered her careers as author and painter to be of equal importance. She painted her whole life, changing style from the classical impressionism of her youth to the highly abstract modernist style of her later years. Jansson displayed a number of artworks in exhibitions during the 30s and early 40s, and her first solo exhibition was held in 1943. Despite generally positive reviews, criticism induced Jansson to refine her style such that in her 1955 solo exhibition her style had become less overloaded in terms of detail and content. Between 1960 and 1970 Jansson held five more solo-exhibitions.
Jansson also created a series of commissioned murals and public works throughout her career which may still be viewed in their original locations. Among others, Jansson created works for:
- The canteen at the Strömberg factory at Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki (1945)
- The Aurora Children's Hospital in Helsinki
- The Kaupunginkellari restaurant of Helsinki Town Hall
- The Seurahuone hotel at Hamina
- The Wise and Foolish Virgins altarpiece in Teuva Church (1954)
- A number of fairy-tale murals in schools and kindergartens including the kindergarten in Pori (1984)
In addition to providing the illustrations for her own Moomin books, Jansson also illustrated Swedish translations of classics such as J. R. R. Tolkien's
The Hobbit and Lewis Carroll's
The Hunting of the Snark and
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (some used later in Finnish translations as well). She also illustrated her late work,
The Summer Book (1972).
Comic strip artist
Tove Jansson worked as illustrator and cartoonist for the Swedish-language satirical magazine
Garm from the 1930s to 1953. One of her political cartoons achieved a brief international fame: she drew Adolf Hitler as a crying baby in diapers, surrounded by Neville Chamberlain and other great European leaders, who tried to calm the baby down by giving it slices of cake — Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc. Jansson also produced illustrations during this period for the Christmas magazines
Julen and
Lucifer (just as her mother had earlier) as well as several smaller productions. Her earliest comic strips were produced for productions including
Lunkentus (
Prickinas och Fabians äventyr, 1929),
Vårbrodd (
Fotbollen som Flög till Himlen, 1930), and
Allas Krönika (
Palle och Göran gå till sjöss, 1933).
The figure of the Moomintroll appeared first in Jansson's political cartoons, where it was used as a signature character near the artist's name. This "Proto-Moomin," then called Snork or Niisku, was thin and ugly, with a long, narrow nose and devilish tail. Jansson said that she had designed the Moomins in her youth: after she lost a philosophical quarrel about Immanuel Kant with one of her brothers, she drew "the ugliest creature imaginable" on the wall of their WC and wrote under it "Kant". This Moomin later gained weight and a more pleasant appearance, but in the first Moomin book
The Moomins and the Great Flood (originally
Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen), the Immanuel-Kant-Moomin is still perceptible. The name "Moomin" comes from Tove Jansson's uncle, Einar Hammarsten: when she was studying in Stockholm and living with her Swedish relations, her uncle tried to stop her pilfering food by telling her that a "Moomintroll" lived in the kitchen closet and breathed cold air down people's necks.
In 1952, after
Comet in Moominland and
Finn Family Moomintroll had been translated into English, a British publisher asked if Tove Jansson would be interested in drawing comic strips about the Moomins. Jansson had already drawn a long Moomin comic adventure,
Mumintrollet och jordens undergång ("Moomintrolls and the End of the World"), based loosely on
Comet in Moominland, for the Swedish-language newspaper
Ny Tid, and she accepted the offer. The comic strip
Moomintroll, started in 1954 in the
Evening News, a newspaper for the London area and London commuters (no longer in business). Tove Jansson drew 21 long Moomin stories from 1954 to 1959, writing them at first by herself and then with her brother Lars Jansson. She eventually gave the strip up because the daily work of a comic artist did not leave her time to write books and paint, but Lars took over the strip and continued it until 1975.
The series was published in book form in Swedish, and books 1 through 4 have been published in English,
Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip.
Theater
Several stage productions have been made from Jansson's Moomin series including a number that Jansson herself was involved in.
The earliest production was a 1949 theatrical version of
Comet in Moominland performed at Åbo Svenska Teater.
In the early 50s, Jansson collaborated on moomin-themed children's plays with Vivica Bandler, and in 1952 Jansson designed stage settings and dresses for
Pessi and Illusia, a ballet by Ahti Sonninen (
Radio tekee murron) which was performed at the Finnish National Opera. By 1958, Jansson began to become directly involved in theater as Lilla Teater produced
Troll i kulisserna, a play with lyrics composed by Jansson and music composed by Erna Tauro. The production was a success and later performances were held in Sweden and Norway.
In 1974 the first Moomin opera was produced with music composed by Ilkka Kuusisto.
