The Brides of Midsummer

For centuries, people have celebrated every Midsummer&#39;s Eve at an ancient spring near a small Swedish village. On that special night, when unmarried men and women dance and some unusual activities are permitted, the Bridal Spring has special powers.<br /><br />Vilhelm Moberg introduces four musicians on the last day that each one will ever know: a curmudgeonly fiddler from the 1930s, a sad and conscientious key-harp player from the plague era of 1711, a ne&#39;er-do-well who plays the flute in 1545, and a goat-horn blower from prehistoric times who, like the others, only seeks happiness with a woman. Binding their stories together is the voice of the Bridal Spring itself, tart and grudgingly compassionate&mdash;and slow to reveal its secret.<br /><br />Each progression backward in time reflects Moberg&#39;s rich knowledge of folklore and shows the changes in everyday life in Sweden&#39;s past. First published in 1946, before the Emigrants novels, The Brides of Midsummer is a complex, compelling journey through the arc of human life.