Gösta Knutsson: children’s author and broadcaster from Uppsala University’s basement

Gösta Knutsson was in fact born Gösta Johansson in the parish of Klara in Stockholm on 12 October 1908. At the age of four, he learned to read from one of his sisters. Little Gösta read a lot, and at a young age his favourite was Alice in Wonderland, a book he later made a new translation of to Swedish in 1945. His love for the written word would turn out to be lifelong.

Became Gösta Knutsson after graduating

In autumn 1926, Gösta enrolled at Uppsala University with the intention of becoming either a teacher or a librarian. Just over three years later, in May 1929, he received his Bachelor’s degree in Nordic Languages, History of Religion, and Greek. In conjunction with his graduation, he took the surname ‘Knutsson’ after his father’s first name (Knut’s son), in an ancient patronymic naming tradition. In autumn 1931, he graduated again, this time with a Master’s degree in Latin and Classical Archaeology.

Gösta Knutsson also very much involved in the life of the student nations at Uppsala, first as the President of the Stockholm student nation and then as chair of the Uppsala Student Union from the autumn semester of 1936 to the spring semester of 1938. From 1940 to 1942, he was editor of Ergo magazine, and from 1959 chair of the Uppsala Student Union’s choral society.

Student union chair and radio broadcaster

The role of student union chair included being the local agent and announcer in Uppsala for the Radio Service (Radiotjänst). The broadcasts were made in the Radio Service’s studio in the basement of the University Main Building. Gösta Knutsson showed a strong interest in radio, and he was known for organising quiz competitions between the student nations in Uppsala, and on tours of Sweden’s public amusement parks with best buddy Ejnar Haglund, a virtual walking encyclopaedia. On 1 December 1938, he broadcast a quiz show on Swedish radio for the first time.

As his career as a radio host began to take off, Gösta Knutsson also began writing children’s books. The first was published in 1939 – The Adventures of Pelle No-Tail as it was subsequently translated to English. The book was a huge success. It sold over a million copies in Swedish and was translated into ten languages. The author himself broadcast the first stories about Pelle from the studio in the basement of the University Main Building. This fictional cat lived on Åsgränd, an alleyway near the University Main Building.

Pelle and Maja

Pelle and his cat friends had real role models among Gösta Knutsson’s social circle. His cat without a tail may also have been modelled on Oscar Rydqvist’s cat books from the 1920s. A real-life model might have been the cat Gösta Knutsson played with in his teens during his summer holidays, a cat whose tail had been bitten off by a rat. But it is probably not wrong to assume that Pelle No-Tail was in fact Gösta Knutsson’s alter ego.

The character of Maya Cream-Nose (Maja Gräddnos) was modelled on Erna Eng, who became Gösta’s wife in 1947. Maya Cream-Nose was not in the first Pelle No-Tail books, because of course Gösta and Erna did not meet until later. The couple not only lived together, they worked together to translate and adapt books for children and young people originally written in other languages.

Gösta Knutsson died on 4 April 1973, at the age of 64, in Uppsala. He is buried in Uppsala Old Cemetery. His wife Erna passed away in 2023 at the age of 97.

Pelle lives on

Astronomer Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist at Uppsala University has discovered a number of comets and asteroids. Asteroid number 8534, which he discovered in 1993, is named Knutsson after Gösta Knutsson. There are also asteroids called Pellesvanslös, Måns, Billochbull, Gammelmaja and Laban – all named after characters from Gösta’s books.

Although Gösta Knutsson also wrote other children’s books, he is best known for his thirteen books about Pelle No-Tail. And the character of Pelle No-Tail lives on, even though Gösta Knutsson passed away far too soon. There have also been films, and theatre and opera productions about Pelle No-Tail, as well as a Christmas calendar on Swedish Television. In Uppsala there is a Pelle No-Tail playground behind Carolina Rediviva. The playground was renovated in spring 2026. Since 2025, a special section of the Furuvik amusement park is dedicated to Pelle No-Tail (Pelles Lekäventyr).

Stockholm student nation inherited the rights

Today, the Stockholm student nation owns the rights to Pelle No-Tail. The nation inherited both the rights and funds for travel grants. The travel grants go to third-cycle students who are registered in the Stockholm nation, and are used for travel that promotes research linked to the Stockholm nation or Gösta Knutsson.

Through a company that has a licensing agreement with the Stockholm nation, author Camilla Läckberg published a new children’s book about Pelle, Pelle Svanslös och svansjakten (Pelle No-Tail and the Tail Hunt) in 2025.

Ulrika Hurtig