Born in Helsinki among Finland's Swedish-speaking minority, Tove Jansson was brought up with a love for making art and stories in a supportive, artistic family. Her first illustrated tales were published when she was fourteen years old and she went on to draw humorous and political cartoons as well as striking front covers for the satirical magazine Garm, in response to events in World War II. As she developed from art student to painter and muralist, and from bohemian to lesbian, she also created her Moomin world, which appeared in her first children's book in 1945 and then in newspaper strips. Jansson also wrote many novels, documented here along with personal commentaries from her own writings. A title in The Illustrators series, which celebrates illustration as an art form, Tove Jansson offers a visually rich view into the life and work of this much-loved artist and writer.

Born in Helsinki among Finland's Swedish-speaking minority, Tove Jansson was brought up with a love for making art and stories in a supportive, artistic family. Her first illustrated tales were published when she was fourteen years old and she went on to draw humorous and political cartoons as well as striking front covers for the satirical magazine Garm, in response to events in World War II. As she developed from art student to painter and muralist, and from bohemian to lesbian, she also created her Moomin world, which appeared in her first children's book in 1945 and then in newspaper strips. Jansson also wrote many novels, documented here along with personal commentaries from her own writings. A title in The Illustrators series, which celebrates illustration as an art form, Tove Jansson offers a visually rich view into the life and work of this much-loved artist and writer.