When the bombs fell in Finland in 1939, Tove Jansson began the first story of the Moomin Troll. When World War II ended in 1945, she published the first Moomin book - The Small Role and the Great Flood.

The story became a reflection of the war with dangers, loss and grief where the Mumindalen became its counterpart - a peaceful idyll.

- Tove Jansson's stories about Mumin are often fun-filled and adventurous but still have a thread of vulnerability and a search for security. She creates excitement in her portrayal, an idea of ​​an idyll that exists in parallel with the threat of a disaster or downfall, says Elina Druker, professor of literary science.

Debuted at the same time as Astrid Lindgren

Mumin's debut year in 1945 became a real children's book year where several writers debuted, such as Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking and Lennart Hellsings Katten blowing in silver horns. It became a turning point after the war where the younger generation distanced itself from the ideas and traditions of its predecessors.

- We see a clear breaking point after the war when a younger generation of illustrators and writers wanted to do something new. Children's books are an area where you can sometimes do things you couldn't do in ordinary art. You fly a little under the radar which gives you the opportunity to be bolder, more experimental, says Elina Druker.

No success from the start

However, Mumin's debut was not a success at first. While Pippi Longstock sold 20,000 copies in a couple of weeks, Mumin sold 219 copies in one full year. But during the 1950s, Mumin was published in the major evening newspaper London's The Evening News as a cartoon.

- It became the core of her international breakthrough, says Elina Druker.

Since then, Mumin has continued to grow in popularity and today the Mumin Group has sales of more than SEK 7 billion each year.

- I also think that the big spread depends on the layers that are in the stories. When I return to my Moomin books as an adult, I notice brand new things.

See more about Moomintroll in Babel on Sunday March 8 at 8 pm in SVT2 or in SVT Play.