A Swedish author, Maria Bouroncle, will give a talk on her novel, “It Came to Me on a Whim” at the Steeple Building Museum in Bishop Hill on Saturday, Oct. 14.
Bouroncle is an economist by profession, but has spent over 25 years in the field of international development before publishing her first novel in 2018. “It Came on a Whim” has been translated into several languages and is currently used as part of the Scandinavian Crime Literature course taught at UCLA. She resides in Washington, DC.
Her book tells the story of her great-aunt who killed her three children in 1929 when she was just 27 years old. Through research, she strived to shed light on what led up to the tragedy, which had been a tightly guarded family secret for over 70 years.
At the program, Bouroncle will show film director Carl Eneroth’s short documentary, “The Child Murderess in Vesene” based on her book. The film won “Best Short Documentary” in London, New Jersey and Miami in 2021.
The book talk begins at 1 pm. More details can be obtained by contacting the Bishop Hill Heritage Association at (309) 927-3899 or by email at bhha@mymctc.net. The event is sponsored by the BHHA and the Bill and Susan Sherrard Foundation.
