1. The Icelandic version of the novel was published in Reykjavík in 1960 and the English translation in 1962.

2. Halldór Laxness was born on April 23, 1902, and died on February 8, 1998. On the history of the Icelandic Latter-day Saints, see the works by Fred E. Woods, listed on page 63.

3. Marius A. Christensen, “History of the Danish Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1850–1964” (master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1966), 131. In a talk titled “Icelandic Settlement in Utah 100 Years Old,” given in 1955 at the centennial anniversary of the Icelandic settlement in Spanish Fork, Utah, Petur Eggerz, an ambassador of Iceland, stated, “Two years ago Utah’s Genealogical Society sent welcome representatives to Iceland. They took microfilms of all books and documents in possession of the National Archives in Iceland.” Thus, the microfilming of these records in 1953 may also be viewed as part of the preparation for Iceland to again receive missionaries.

4. Halldór Guðmundsson, The Islander: A Biography of Halldór Laxness, trans. Philip Roughton (London: Maclehose Press, 2008), 380–81. Guðmundsson’s biography first appeared under the title Halldór Laxness: ÆVISAGA (Reykjavík: JPV ÚTGÁFA, 2004). This is the finest biography written about this gifted Icelandic author. For an excellent overview of Laxness’s life, see Helga Kress, “Halldór Laxness,” trans. Alison Tartt, in Dictionary of Literary Biography: Icelandic Writers, vol. 293, ed. Patrick J. Stevens (Detroit: Thompson and Gale, 2004), 125–49.

5. John Y. Bearnson to Halldór Laxness, telegram, October 15, 1957, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness, National and University Library of Iceland, Reykjavík. A letter written by Bearnson to Laxness three months later further reveals that Bearnson was very involved with providing sources for Halldór’s research. Bearnson notes, “Regarding Church books, I am today mailing to your address in Iceland, two books which are considered the ‘Standard Works of our Church.’ . . . I think this will perhaps give you the information of which you desired and if you need other books let me know and I will try to procure them.” John Y. Bearnson to Halldór Laxness, January 13, 1958, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness. Laxness sent a letter back to Bearnson about two months later, thanking him for “the great gift you made me of the two Sacred Books of your religion, which are going to be of great use to me in studying the Spiritual background of Utah.” Halldór Laxness to John Y. Bearnson, March 27, 1958, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness. Bearnson wrote another letter to Halldór and Auður and again mentioned, “If you desire any information about Utah and the L.D.S. Faith, just write and I will try to supply it for you.” John Y. Bearnson to Halldór Laxness, May 14, 1958, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness.

6. Halldór Laxness to John Y. Bearnson, December 4, 1957, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness.

7. Guðmundsson, Islander, 381.

8. David B. Timmins, “The Second Beginning of the Church in Iceland,” unpublished three-page document in the possession of the author, 1. The author wishes to express appreciation to Clark T. Thorstenson, who later served as the Icelandic consul to the western United States, for allowing him to have a copy of this manuscript. In a manuscript in the files of the LDS Branch in the Reykjavík region, the first entry to a written Church record since the closure of the mission in 1914 was on May 3, 1959. The entry for that day states: “Kenneth Fowles, Elder, ‘presiding and conducting’ First meeting held in Reykjavik at the home of Brother and Sister Timmins. Bro. Timmins is listed as employed at the American Embassy.” Donald R. Knight, comp., “A Brief History of the Icelandic Branch,” 1. The second entry, dated May 6, 1959, notes, “Wednesday evening meeting at Keflavik Naval Air Station. The pattern was [s]et for regular Sunday and Wednesday meetings which continued unbroken until 2 Nov 1960. During this time attendance at the meetings ranged from 3 to 12.” Page two of this thirteen-page document, dated September 16, 1972, indicates that Knight compiled these assorted notes.

9. Timmins, “Second Beginning of the Church in Iceland,” 1.

10. Ásmundur Guðmundsson was appointed bishop of Iceland in 1954 and served until 1959, when he turned seventy years old and therefore was required by Icelandic law to retire from this office. Michael Fell, And Some Fell into Good Soil: A History of Christianity in Iceland, American University Studies, series 7, Theology and Religion, vol. 201 (New York: Peter Lang, 1999), 319, 352.

11. Timmins, “Second Beginning of the Church in Iceland,” 1. Timmins was incorrect that missionaries had been away from Iceland for a hundred years; it had been sixty.

12. Apparently, not long after Timmins made contact with Laxness, Halldór wrote a letter to John Y. Bearnson in which he noted, “Your American consul in Reykjavik Mr. David Timmins, is a Mormon, we see him and his wife occasionally, and he has been to my place, an extremely nice couple, as I think many Mormons are.” Halldór Laxness to John Y. Bearnson, June 29, 1959, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness. Bearnson responded with a letter to Laxness three weeks later: “My brother . . . knows David Timmins mother real well. He told me that he worked in the U.S. Consulate in Reykjavik, when he was here on his visit.” John Y. Bearnson to Halldór Laxness, July 18, 1959, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness. This suggests that Laxness had already written Bearnson soon after Timmins had spent the evening in the Laxness summer home.

13. Timmins, “Second Beginning of the Church in Iceland,” 2. It seems strange that Timmins was apparently unaware that Laxness had visited Salt Lake City less than two years earlier. It is not certain if Halldór withheld this information from Timmins or if Timmins just did not remember it. If Halldór did not mention the visit, perhaps it was because of his paranoia due to his Communist branding or because he thought it might be possible that Timmins would supply additional contacts.

14. David B. Timmins, interview with the author, April 3, 2008.

15. Timmins, interview.

16. George S. Tate, “Halldór Laxness, the Mormons and the Promised Land,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 11 (Summer 1978): 25; at Halldór’s instigation this article subsequently appeared, translated by Jóhann S. Hanneson, as “Halldór Laxness, Mormónarnir og fyrirheitna Landið,” in Lesbók Morgunblaðsins, May 5, 1979, 1–5, 14–15. Throughout this paper I have relied on the prior research and translations, some not previously published, of my colleague George S. Tate, professor of humanities and comparative literature at Brigham Young University. Tate interviewed Halldór at the novelist’s home while he was a Fulbright student in Iceland in 1971–72 and sent Laxness the Dialogue article when it appeared. See also Tate’s “Eldorado and the Garden in Laxness’ Paradísarheimt,” Scripta Islandica 36 (1985): 21–34.

17. Peter Hallberg, in his book Halldór Laxness, trans. Rory McTurk (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1971), points out that “as late as the spring of 1927 he was able to explain in a controversial newspaper article on the subject of Vefarinn mikli, that ‘among the many conceptions of life which are put forward in my book, I personally favor one alone, namely the Catholic’” (57). Laxness traveled by train from western Canada to California, via Salt Lake City, with his wealthy friend Halldór Halldórsson. Guðmundsson, Islander, 132–33.

18. Matthías Johannessen, “Þér eruð kannski orðinn kaþólskur aftur? Spjallað við Halldór Kiljan Laxness við útkomu skáldsögunnar Paradísarheimt,” Morgunblaðið, July 23, 1960, 9 (translated by George S. Tate); Tate, “Halldór Laxness,” 27.

19. Shortly after Halldór returned from his 1959 visit to Utah, he described the impressive Salt Lake Tabernacle in greater detail. Among other things, he noted that Brigham Young had directed the erection of this edifice, which Laxness called “a great Ark of the Covenant or Tabernacle, the congregation house of the Mormons.” Further, Halldór noted, “The Lord inspired [Brigham Young] with the wisdom that if good acoustics were to be achieved in the congregation house, so that the Lord might be suitably praised, then the hall should be built according to the same principle as man’s inner mouth, from lips to gullet. He erected there one of the most astounding edifices in the world. The building is ca. 90 meters long, 50 meters wide and 25 meters high.” Halldór Laxness, “Ævintýri um fyrirheitna landið,” in Gjörníngabók (Reykjavík: Helgafell, 1959), 122–23 (translated by George S. Tate). This piece first appeared as a two-part illustrated cover article in successive issues of the magazine Samvinnan: part 1 in May 1958, 4–7, and part 2 in June 1958, 4–7; part 1 deals primarily with Mormon history, part 2 with Laxness’s visit to Utah.

20. Halldór Laxness, The Origins of “Paradise Reclaimed” (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1962), 5–6.

21. The fact that Laxness indeed made three trips to Utah and truly respected his Mormon friends is strengthened by a letter he wrote to a friend in New York, in which Halldór noted, “I went twice to Utah before starting the work, and for the third time, during the proceeding of the work, I stayed a month in Utah. Such an idea as belittling the Mormon case would never occur to me.” Halldór Laxness to Julius Isaacs, April 24, 1978, extract via email correspondence from Halldór Guðmundsson. The author thanks Guðmundsson for reading this paper, providing useful advice, and kindly sharing this material and other letters from his Laxness files.

22. Halldór Laxness to Auður Laxness, October 4, 1959, in the possession of Halldór Guðmundsson. Guðmundsson provided excerpts and notes from this letter as well as three others written by Halldór to Auður during the period of September 24 to October 4, 1959, which are cited several times in this article. Gratitude is also expressed to Gerhard Guðnason, who translated the excerpts and notes from each of these letters.

23. Laxness, “Ævintýri um fyrirheitna landið,” 121 (translated by George S. Tate). In anticipation of this 1959 visit, John Y. Bearnson sent a letter to Halldór in which he said, among other things, “We [meaning he and his wife, Birdella] will be delighted to see you when you come to Utah, in late August or early Sept. Remember the welcome mat is always out for you. You must let me know when you are to arrive here.” Bearnson to Laxness, July 18, 1959. In a letter dated December 2, 1959, Halldór thanked the Bearnsons for their “valuable help, friendliness and hospitality” during his Utah visit earlier that fall. In addition, he asked the Bearnsons to “please remember me to the wonderful people of Spanish Fork . . . and tell them how deeply I enjoyed their company, both privately and in their homes, and at the big gathering where they gave me the beautiful gifts.” Halldór Laxness to John Y. Bearnson, December 2, 1959, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness. In another letter written by Bearnson to the Laxness family later that same month, Bearnson responded to questions which Laxness had about doctrinal and historical issues in Mormon history. John Y. Bearnson to Halldór Laxness, December 29, 1959, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness. Several months later, Bearnson again responded to a question Halldór apparently had with reference to the geography of Utah. Bearnson gave a rather lengthy, detailed response and included in his remarks a note concerning where the early Icelanders settled in Spanish Fork. John Y. Bearnson to Halldór Laxness, March 8, 1960, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness.

24. Halldór Laxness to Auður Laxness, September 24, 1959, in the possession of Halldór Guðmundsson. It appears that at this time Laxness was unaware of the strong Icelandic traditions that were maintained in Utah during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Evidence of this may be seen in the annual celebration of Iceland Days, which commenced in 1897, and the Icelandic Association of Utah, which is still a very active organization. See Fred E. Woods, Fire on Ice: The Story of Icelandic Latter-day Saints at Home and Abroad (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2005) 186–88.

25. Halldór Laxness to Judge A. Sherman Christensen, February 5, 1963, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness. The author recently received a copy of this photograph from Guðný Halldórsdóttir, a daughter of Halldór who lives in Iceland. On the back of the photo it states, “Dear Mr. Laxness—This is a copy of the picture in which you were interested in at our house on Wednesday. The home was one of many built in Spanish Fork, Utah, by Loftur Jonsson.” After identifying the individuals in the photograph, the writer then notes, “Good luck and God bless you in your present quest. Sincerely, Mrs. A. Sherman Christensen.”

26. Lois Bowen Christensen noted that on a trip with her husband to Iceland, they had “stopped off at the summer home of Haldor Kiljan Laxness and his sweet wife, Audur, where we were invited for dinner. . . . We had entertained Mr. Laxness at our home in Salt Lake when he was doing research for his new novel, Paradise Reclaimed. . . . We found these people to be sweet, modest, and humble, even though they are very famous.” Lois Bowen Christensen, “Icelandic Adventure” (Castle Valley, Utah: Featherweed, 1992), 18–19. The author thanks Cris Coffey, daughter of A. Sherman and Lois Bowen Christensen, who at his request searched through her father’s private journal to find the date of her parents’ trip to Iceland and discovered that the visit to the Laxness summer home would have been in late August 1965. In a Christmas card sent by Lois later that year she wrote, “Dear friends—the Laxnesses—Sherman and I loved our visit in your beautiful home. You provided us with such delicious food and with such warm and happy companionship. . . . We think of you and talk of our experiences in Iceland very often.” Lois B. Christensen to Halldór Laxness, Christmas card, 1965, Correspondence of Lois B. Christensen to Halldór Laxness, National and University Library of Iceland. On September 29, 1978, Lois sent another card to Halldór and Auður, thanking them for a necklace she had received via their daughter “Döna” (Guðný Halldórsdóttir). Lois writes further, “Next year I am to give a program in my Relief Society [LDS adult women’s organization] on Iceland and I can think of nothing more special to show the ancient art of Iceland than this lovely necklace.” Lois B. Christensen to Halldór Laxness, September 29, 1978, Correspondence of Lois B. Christensen to Halldór and Auður Laxness.

27. Laxness, Origins of “Paradise Reclaimed,” 8.

28. Halldór Laxness to Auður Laxness, September 27, 1959, in the possession of Halldór Guðmundsson.

29. Laxness, Minnisbók, National and University Library of Iceland. This daily planner does not generally have dates or page numbers. In addition, Laxness wrote entries in both Icelandic and English, and some of the planner is illegible. The author thanks BYU Icelandic instructor Darron S. Allred for translating Icelandic excerpts from this minnisbók for this article and for proofing the diacritical marks in this article. When Laxness returned from his trip, he continued to ask specific questions of both a historical and doctrinal nature. In a letter he wrote to Bearnson shortly after he left Utah, Laxness asked, “In what direction from the hill where the Icelandic monument is placed (in Spanish Fork), was Þórður Diðriksson’s bricklayer yard?” and “Who exactly are the so called Josephites?” and “Was land in Spanish Fork owned by the church or by individuals, or both, in the settlement day?” Halldór Laxness to John Y. Bearnson, December 14, 1959, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness. The minnisbók and such questions as these, appearing in a number of letters, reflect the fact that Laxness conducted very careful research for his Mormon novel. Two weeks later, Bearnson faithfully responded with detailed explanations for each of these three questions. Bearnson to Laxness, December 29, 1959, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness.

30. Laxness, Minnisbók.

31. Laxness, Minnisbók. Laxness, “Ævintýri um fyrirheitna landið,” 110–27, gives further evidence of Halldór’s serious effort to understand the history of the Mormons.

32. Laxness, Minnisbók. This comment seems a bit strange inasmuch as one of his hosts was Judge A. Sherman Christensen, who no doubt had a very keen intellect. Christensen was a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for Utah from 1954 until his death in 1996. Wikipedia, “Albert Sherman Christensen,” online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Sherman_Christensen (accessed July 15, 2010).

33. Laxness, Minnisbók. In Halldór Laxness, Paradise Reclaimed, trans. Magnus Magnusson (New York: Vintage Books, 2002), the name Bishop Þjóðrekur first occurs on page 51, when Steinar asks the name of the Mormon missionary who has been searching for converts in Iceland. The character Þjóðrekur is based on a historical figure named Þórður Diðriksson, an Icelandic Mormon convert, who will be discussed later in the text. Steinar, the central character in Paradise Reclaimed, is also based upon a historical figure, Eiríkur Ólafsson á Brúnum, as noted above.

34. Laxness, Paradise Reclaimed, 299.

35. David Ashby, Icelanders Gather to Utah, 1854–1914 (Spanish Fork, Utah: Icelandic Association of Utah, 2008), 23. According to La Nora Allred, The Icelanders of Utah (Spanish Fork, Utah: Icelandic Association, 1998), 110, “[Ólafsson] was a rancher and also operated a restaurant in Reykjavik.” Vilhjálmur Gíslason, Eiríkur á Brúnum (Reykjavík: Ísafoldarprentsmiðja H.F., 1946), 7, notes that Eiríkur “was an industrious man and good farmer, when he was in the prime of life, a skillful craftsman and knew a thing or two about folktales and poetry, as well as being a good story teller. . . . [He] did not receive any education growing up apart from the usual confirmation lessons. Nevertheless, he was attentive and had a thirst for knowledge.” This passage was translated by Friðrik Rafn Guðmundsson.

36. Gíslason, Eiríkur á Brúnum, 116 (translated by Darron S. Allred); Ashby, Icelanders Gather to Utah, 123, identifies Þorbjörn’s father as Thorvaldur Bjornsson, who was born October 18, 1833, and died January 30, 1922. Evidence strongly suggests that Thorvaldur, twenty-one years older than Ingeveldur Eiríksdóttir (1854–1930), is portrayed as Björn of Leirur in Paradise Reclaimed. According to Laxness’s novel, Thorvaldur fathered an illegitimate child via Ingeveldur, who is portrayed as Steina, the daughter of Steinar, in the story. The introduction to Paradise Reclaimed by Jane Smiley (New York: Vintage Books, 2002), states, “The other visitor was the agent Björn of Leirur: Björn of Leirur is loosely based on the historical character named Þorvaldur Björnsson (1833–1922), a farming magnate who lived at Þorvladseyvi at the roots of Eyiafjallajökull. He, too, became an entrepreneur, investing all his money in trawlers, but went bankrupt. He had no children by his wife, but had two children by Ingvald [Ingeveldur], the daughter of Eiríkur of Brúnar (the original of ‘Steinar of Hliðar’)” (301).

37. See http://lib.byu.edu/mormonmigration. Search for “Nevada, 1881.” Information on this database was compiled and edited by the author.

38. Cited in Manuscript History of the Iceland Mission, 28–29, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City (hereafter cited as Church History Library). Concerning events on their Atlantic voyage, see letter of John Eyvindson, in “Correspondence,” Millennial Star 43 (August 29, 1881): 554–55.

39. In his novel, Laxness has Steinar’s wife and family traveling to Utah after Steinar had already immigrated there. However, the facts assert that Eiríkur and his family traveled together until Runhildur’s untimely death. Ashby notes that she became sick and died on the way to Utah and is buried at North Platte, Nebraska (Icelanders Gather to Utah, 106).

40. Ashby, Icelanders Gather to Utah, 23–24. See also a biographical sketch of Eiríkur in Allred, The Icelanders of Utah, 110.

41. Ashby, Icelanders Gather to Utah, 60–61, notes that Ingeveldur Eiríkursdóttir met Jon Jonsson on the voyage over to America in 1881. They were married about four months later and had five children together. She died in 1930 at the age of seventy-six and is buried in the Spanish Fork Cemetery. In addition, Ashby, 123, further notes that Þorbjörn Þorvaldsson remained in Spanish Fork, where he died in 1965.

42. On his visits to Utah in 1957 and in 1959, Laxness showed a keen interest in knowing more about Diðriksson, as can be evidenced in letters he wrote to John Y. Bearnson following each of these visits. See for example, Halldór Laxness to John Y. Bearnson, December 4, 1957, and September 16, 1959, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness.

43. On the Atlantic voyage from Liverpool to New York, Þórður was very seasick. He noted, “I often heard the emigrants ask if the Icelander was still alive and the usual answer was, ‘It won’t be long untill he is gone,’ and that answer made me wish I was out of the way so they wouldn’t have to bother about nursing me any longer.” “Autobiographical Sketch of Theodur Dedrickson” (Þórður Diðriksson), 2, Church History Library.

44. Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 vols. (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History, 1901–36), 4:343. For voyage information on the vessel John J. Boyd, see Mormon Immigration Index CD. A note inserted apparently by an E. Iver in the “Autobiographical Sketch of Theodur Dedrickson,” 7, points out that “the Dedrickson home was noted for its generous hospitality and there many of the emigrants were taken in and kept like family members untill they could get settled.” In Halldór Laxness, Paradise Reclaimed, 152, the author incorporates into his novel the idea that the Mormon bishop, based on the character of Diðriksson, was hospitable to the incoming Icelanders. Ashby, Icelanders Gather to Utah, 124–26, states that Diðriksson was born at Holmar, Kross, Rangarvalla County, and notes that he married Helga Jonsdottir in 1858. Ashby further notes, “Thordur homesteaded 160 acres on the east bench of Spanish Fork. He established an adobe yard which furnished materials for many homes in Spanish Fork. The adobes were made of mud and straw. Thordur was a leader among the Icelandic pioneers in Spanish Fork. He presided at many of their meetings. Many of the Icelandic emigrants that came to Spanish Fork found shelter and food under his roof. . . . Thordur died 9 September 1894 of diabetes.”

45. A few of the nineteenth-century Icelanders who converted to Mormonism and immigrated to Utah reverted back to their Lutheran faith. One historical individual who appears in a key role in Paradísarheimt is “Reverend Runólfur,” a Lutheran pastor. Runólfur Runólfsson was born in 1854, joined the LDS Church in 1874, and emigrated from Iceland to North Dakota in 1881. The following year he came to Utah, where he worked as an interpreter for men constructing the Salt Lake Temple. Here he entered polygamy and took a second wife. However, his first wife told him he had to choose between her and polygamy. As a result, Runólfur abandoned the Mormon faith and became the Lutheran pastor for the Icelandic congregation in Spanish Fork. He also served as a reverend in Seattle, Washington, and in Iceland, but he eventually returned to Spanish Fork, where he died in 1929. Ashby, Icelanders Gather to Utah, 106–7. My research assistant Mark J. Sanderson, in an unpublished paper titled “The Old Lutheran Church in Spanish Fork,” 4, stated that “while several Icelanders left the LDS Church, they maintained close ties with LDS Icelanders and the Lutheran church became a community center for Icelanders.” This close relationship has also been mentioned to the author by a number of people who have Icelandic roots and who are currently members of the Icelandic Association of Utah. For information on the history of Lutherans in Utah, see Ronnie L. Stellhorn, “A History of the Lutheran Church in Utah” (master’s thesis, Utah State University, 1975); see also Thomas Edgar Lyon, “Evangelical Protestant Missionary Activities in Mormon Dominated Areas: 1865–1900” (PhD diss., University of Utah, 1962), 221–30, on contact between Lutherans and Mormons throughout Utah during the late nineteenth century.

46. Referring to Diðriksson’s tract, Einar Eiríksson, who wrote “Short History of the Iceland Mission” in 1912, noted, “I consider this book the best that has been published in the Iceland language on our religion.” A copy of this work is housed in the Church History Department. Byron Geslison, who was called to reopen the Icelandic Mission in 1975, indicated that the missionaries still used Þórður’s tract a century after it was written. Byron Geslison and his family, interviews by the author, winter 2000, Spanish Fork, Utah.

47. Byron Geslison and his family, interviews by the author. On another occasion, Byron Geslison wrote, “Halldór Kiljan Laxness . . . has received us several times and has much of our literature. He and his wife have offered to help us and there is a letter on file from him stating his desire to help us where he can.” Byron T. Geslison, “Mission Report of Iceland: December, 1977,” 17, in the possession of the author. In a letter to Bearnson, written from Hong Kong, December 4, 1957, Laxness reveals that he had been wanting the Diðriksson book for decades. He writes, “I was really happy to find and hold in my hands the book of Þórður Diðriksson, a bibliographical gem, not to be found in any collection of printed Icelandic books. Only I felt utterly distressed not to find time or convenience to read a single line in this book which I have been yearning for at least 30 years. . . . I should also be very happy if you could persuade the granddaughter of Þórður Diðriksson to send his valuable writings to a library which specializes in Icelandic books, like Landsbókasafn Íslands.” Laxness to Bearnson, December 4, 1957. On January 13, 1958, Bearnson replied to Halldór, “I will try to see some of the decendents [sic] of Thordur Didriksson . . . and see if something can be done to get them to put his writings in safe keeping.” Bearnson further noted that he was going to try to get a microfilm copy of this book by Diðriksson which Laxness had wanted. Bearnson to Laxness, January 13, 1958.

48. When Paradísarheimt was published, it outsold every other book for the Christmas season of 1960 in Iceland. However, as in Utah, Laxness also had his critics in his homeland. Some liked the book while others did not. Some disliked the style and thought the novel was anticlimatic; others believed that Halldór left too many unresolved issues, and they puzzled over the apparent inconclusiveness of the ending. Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson, Laxness 1948–1998 (Reykjavík: Bókafélagið, 2005), 242; I am indebted to Friðrik Rafn Guðmundsson for translating this summary of critical responses for me. Halldór Guðmundsson, author of The Islander (see endnote 4), wrote the following in an email to the author dated June 10, 2010: “This study of Fred Woods about the relationship between Halldór and the Mormons is highly interesting not the least because it demonstrates well Halldór’s approach to story writing. Even if it were not his intention to discuss the theology of the church of the Latter-day Saints, he didn’t miss studying it thoroughly, along with the social life of Utah, without prejudice, and with sincere interest and respect. He consulted with scholars and clergymen, visited the settings, and read books and essays—but in the end all facts . . . had to [be] swayed to the one desire Halldór never rejected—the desire to tell a good story.”

49. Tate, “Halldór Laxness,” 31, writes that “Mormon readers who are offended at the satiric aspects of Laxness’s portrait of Zion should understand that irony and satire are common to all his fiction, regardless of subject or setting, and are not simply marshalled out to undercut the Mormons.”

50. Halldór Laxness to Judge A. Sherman Christensen, February 5, 1963, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness.

51. Johannessen, “Þér eruð kannski orðinn kaþólskur aftur?” 9 (translated by George S. Tate).

52. Laxness, Origins of “Paradise Reclaimed,” 3.

53. Laxness, Origins of “Paradise Reclaimed,” 3.

54. Steven P. Sondrup, “Halldór Laxness and the Politics of Paradise,” International Symposium no. 10, International Research Center for Japanese Studies: Ideal Places in History—East and West—1995: 74, 79. See also Steven P. Sondrup, “Paradísarheimt and Utopian Aspirations,” in Komparatisk als Humanwissenschaft: Festschrift zum 65, ed. Monika Schmitz-Emans (Würzburg: Köninghausen and Neumann, 2008), 385–96. Sondrup, an LDS scholar and professor of comparative literature at Brigham Young University, has been editor of the journal Scandinavian Studies since 1990.

55. Doctrine and Covenants 97:21.

56. Moses 7:18. In Mormon theology, the term Zion is defined as both a righteous people and a place or a land designated for the Latter-day Saints to congregate. The Salt Lake Valley and other Mormon colonies throughout the American West became gathering places for the Saints from 1847 until the end of the nineteenth century. See A. D. Sorenson, “Zion,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 4 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 4:1624–26, for more information concerning the meaning of Zion.

57. Gissurarson, Laxness 1948–1998, 241 (translated by Friðrik Rafn Guðmundsson).

58. Tate, “Halldór Laxness,” 33.

59. Sondrup, “Halldór Laxness and the Politics of Paradise,” 79. At the close of the twentieth century, the LDS Church’s First Presidency counseled international converts “to remain in their homelands rather than immigrate to the United States.” “Remain in Homelands, Members Counseled,” Church News, published by Deseret News, December 11, 1999, 7.

60. Halldór Laxness, The Fish Can Sing, trans. Magnus Magnusson (London: Harville Press, 1966), 8, quoted in Tate, “Halldór Laxness,” 29.

61. Laxness, “Ævintýri um fyrirheitna landið,” 124 (translated by George S. Tate).

62. Halldór Laxness, “En amerikansk aabenbaring,” in Gjörníngabók (Reykjavík: Helgafell, 1959), 225 (translated by George S. Tate). This review essay, written in Danish, first appeared in Politiken (Copenhagen), June 2, 1958.

63. Johannessen, “Þér eruð kannski orðinn kaþólskur aftur?” 9 (translated by George S. Tate).

64. Johannessen, “Þér eruð kannski orðinn kaþólskur aftur?” 9 (translated by George S. Tate). David A. Ashby, “The Icelandic Settlement in Utah,” unpublished paper written in 2003, 10, in possession of author, indicates that the Icelandic Association began to hold an annual Thorablot gathering in March 1998. There are currently two hundred and fifty LDS Church members listed in Iceland in two ecclesiastical units known as branches. 2009 Church Almanac (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 2009), 196. These branches are located in Reykjavík and Selfoss.

65. Halldór Laxness, interview by Randi Bratteli, Arbeiderbladet (Oslo), February 28, 1970 (translated by George S. Tate); Tate, “Halldór Laxness,” 30. Shortly after this interview, Ray C. Johnson, a mission president stationed in Oslo, Norway, who supervised missionary work in Iceland, sent a letter to Laxness, indicating that he was aware of the interest Laxness apparently had in the Church when Laxness expressed this view in this interview with Mrs. Bratteli. Johnson also told Laxness, “There are some Mormons in Iceland, and church meetings are being held there. They are held under the direction of Capt. Bert V. Rhoton. He is an American-Air Corps Officer (Address: Box 52, Keflavik Airport, Keflavik, Iceland). I am writing him and inviting him to get in touch with you.” Ray C. Johnson to Halldór Laxness, March 16, 1970, Correspondence of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Halldór Laxness, National and University Library of Iceland. Laxness wrote back to Johnson just eight days later and thanked the mission president. Worried about the reception of Paradise Reclaimed among the Utah community, Halldór again noted, “I was told that some local Mormons, among them some of my friends in Spanish Fork and Provo, did not find my book rich enough in hero worship and glorification of the early Mormon settlers. This is the case with all local people when a stranger writes a book about their environment. . . . My very good friend in Salt Lake City, the Federal judge Sherman Christensen, wrote to me that there was nothing whatsoever objectionable to Mormons. . . . Since my Utah visits I have always been happy to see Mormons as guests at my home in Iceland. If you have found a mission in Iceland I shall be glad to recommend their endeavor to Icelanders, because I know from experience that Mormons are excellent people.” Halldór Laxness to President Ray C. Johnson, March 24, 1970, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness.

66. Laxness, Origins of “Paradise Reclaimed,” 8.

67. John Y. Bearnson to Halldór and Auður Laxness, Christmas 1979, typescript, Correspondence of John Y. Bearnson to Halldór Laxness, National and University Library of Iceland. In this same letter, Bearnson thanked Laxness for his kindness shown to him and his wife, Birdella, during the time they served a mission to Iceland from about August 1977 to August 1978. In a 1978 Christmas letter, Bearnson also thanked Halldór and Auður for their kindness shown on this same mission and also noted, “Birdella often speaks of your visits to the Hospital.” See John Y. Bearnson to Halldór and Auður Laxness, December 14, 1978, Correspondence of Halldór Laxness. In the 1979 Christmas letter, John Bearnson told Halldór and Auður, “Birdella has done very well with her broken hip.” This appears to be the reason for the hospital visit Bearnson noted in his letter and why the Bearnsons served a mission to Iceland for only one year instead of eighteen months, the general time frame for most LDS missionary couples.

68. Guðný Halldórsdóttir, phone interview by the author, April 2, 2009. During the course of our conversation, Guðný further remarked that she visited Utah for the first time in the fall of 1979 in order to participate in a two-month film shoot of a documentary about Paradísarheimt. Guðný added that she found the Mormons to be an “ordinary” and a “very nice people.” In a phone interview with the author on July 27, 2010, Guðný said that her father told her that “the Mormons were a blessed people. He was positive towards Mormons because they treated him so well. He had problems come to America because of the C.I.A. Through the Mormons he was helped in coming to the United States to do his research.” Guðmundsson, Islander, 459, notes, “In the summer of 1979 Rolf Hädrich started work on a version of a new television series based on Paradise Reclaimed. It was a huge production and the filming took place in Copenhagen, Iceland and Utah, where an entire set had been built for the town of Spanish Forks [sic]. Icelandic actors took the most important roles. Halldór did not participate, yet he and his son Einar took a car trip to a remote part of eastern Iceland to watch the shooting.”