Eva Mattsson
Author, lecturer and cultural producer – that’s a lot of words to describe 65-year-old entrepreneur Eva Mattsson. She describes herself as creative and ambitious. Eva has lived in Vadstena since 2008 and has two children and three grandchildren. With an interest in history, nature, and people, she founded her own publishing house and has published books related to history.
Here is what she says about herself:
I grew up in North Upland, but have lived in Wadden since 2008 – a good place to live if you’re researching history. I think I’m quite versatile but interested in different things. I can sit and write all day, but changing car tires or repairing machinery is not for me. My priorities are different today than they were 40 years ago when I started my career. I graduated in social work and administration, which is similar to today’s economics course. Between 1983 and 2006 I worked in the private and public sector, including as a broker at Danske Bank, Managing Director of Linköping Konsert & Kongress and as Development Director at E.ON Malmö. I have always enjoyed learning new things, which is why I have worked as a manager for most of my professional life. But I always felt that I wanted to create something on my own. So in 2006 I quit my job and founded my own consultancy company, AB Eneva, and started studying art, communication, and history. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2010 and a Master of Arts degree in 2012. In 2008 I changed the name of the company to Bring to Life.
Today I am a writer, lecturer, and cultural producer. I also organize historical walks in Vadstena. I have a special interest in bringing history to life, and from 2012 to 2014 I organized monologue performances about Catherine Jagiello in castles in Vadstena, Uppsala, and Stockholm, which attracted a lot of spectators. I specialize in 16th-century history and made my debut in 2018 with the book “The Princess”, which is the first biography written about Queen Catherine Jagiellonian. In May 2021, I published “Summer in Vadstena”. My own publishing house “Bring to Life” published both books. My business goal is to make a living out of it and enjoy it at the same time. I want to bring history to life and write non-fiction.
This presentation aims to introduce the Swedish cultural historian Eva Mattsson’s book “Catherine Jogailaitė, Queen of Sweden” to Lithuanian readers and history enthusiasts. This historical biography explores the life of Catherine Jogailaitė, Princess of Lithuania, who became Queen of Sweden.
The biography of Catherine Jogailaitė, which is extremely interesting, compelling and comprehensive, focuses on cultural and historical-political insights and highlights the strong ties between Lithuania and Sweden during the Renaissance.
Eva Mattsson has collected and described documents she researched in Vilnius, Krakow, and elsewhere. This is a unique account of the life of Catherine Jogailaitė, Queen of Sweden’s Lithuanian queen, richly illustrated with facts and photographs. There is no similar study in Lithuania, let alone Lithuanian historians, and no other noblewoman’s life and her influence on the politics and culture of another country has been studied and described in such detail. By the way, Eva Mattson claims to have found Catherine’s wedding crown. Lithuanian readers would be very interested in learning more about medieval Lithuania and Sweden, the events of the time, and the connections with today’s issues.
