Change

Elin's Story 1

By: Esther Warren

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

A tender historical novella set in 1860s Sweden — where a young girl stands at the edge of childhood, and the edge of the world she’s always known.

Dalsland, Sweden – 1864.
Twelve-year-old Elin rises before dawn to milk the cow, mind her younger brothers, and stir thin porridge over the fire. In a quiet village where everyone knows your name—and expects you to stay—she begins to feel the first stirrings of something more.

A failed harvest. A baby’s fever. A carved wooden horse. And a boy named Jonas, whose dreams stretch far beyond the lake. As childhood fades and winter closes in, Elin must choose between roots and wings, between what is safe and what might be waiting across the sea.

Change is the first novella in The Early Tales of Dalberg — a quiet, atmospheric coming-of-age trilogy that unfolds nearly two centuries before the modern-day Dalberg series begins. With folk sensibility and deep emotional resonance, it’s a story of girlhood, grief, first love, and quiet strength in a forgotten corner of Sweden.

For readers who loved The Snow Child, Anne of Green Gables, or the soul of Kristin Lavransdatter, this gentle historical novella will linger like winter light.

Elin’s story continues in Part Two — Shift — available now.
Part Three — Home — is coming soon.