Algot, Anna Stina and the Water of Life

By: Jonas Jonasson, Rachel Willson-Broyles - translator

Jonas Jonasson is back with another irresistible adventure, this time set in nineteenth century Sweden.

After his father’s death is caused by the greedy and cunning Count Bielkegren, Algot Olsson is left with nothing to his name, except for a potato field and a homemade still to make liquor. But Algot is smart, ambitious and resourceful, and it’s not long before he masters the lucrative art of distilling spirits. When his schnapps become a sensation, he finds his success once again attracts the envy of the Count, who will do everything in his power to sabotage Algot’s budding business.

Thankfully, however, Algot isn’t alone. With the support of his friend Helmut, a Bavarian printer with a flexible relationship to the truth, and Helmut’s daughter Anna Stina, who is as strong-willed as she is charming, he might just have the creativity and the courage to outsmart the Count’s schemes once and for all … and perhaps there’s even time for romance along the way.

Full of sharp humour, wonderfully absurd twists and memorable characters, Algot, Anna Stina and the Water of Life is an irresistible adventure of friendship, love and ingenuity.

©2025 Jonas Jonasson

Critic reviews

Praise for The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared:

'A mordantly funny and loopily freewheeling debut novel about ageing disgracefully' Sunday Times

'Imaginative, laugh-out-loud … a brilliant satire on the foibles of mankind' Telegraph

'Scandi-crime's signature darkness is here dispelled by Allan Karlsson, the eponymous centenarian, who with unlikely sprightliness hops out of the window of his old people's home one afternoon … Fast-moving and relentlessly sunny' Guardian