Lilly is a native of Sweden and an American Citizen.  She has chronicled her travels with her husband, Lennart Setterdahl, from coast to coast in the United States , parts of Canada , and Sydney , Australia , in search of Swedish-American archival material and oral histories.

   She has received many awards, one being the 2009 Olov Isaksson Prize of Biskopskulla, Sweden, presented in Bishop Hill, Illinois, June 27, 2009 with the following motivation:

"The Bishop Hill Society has decided to award the 2009 Olov Isaksson Prize to one in the Midwest far traveled describer of the Swedish emigration history. In addition to all translated and published American letters from Bishop Hill to Sweden, the extensive emigration research, travel and interviews of  Swedish-Americans, which she and her husband have made, have borne fruit in the many cultural and historical research articles and books she has published on the Swedish emigrants and their conditions of life in America... "

Her latest award is the Swedish Council of America National Award of Merit presented to her in the Quad Cities on April 9, 2010 "In recognition of outstanding contributions and as an expression of gratitude for the many years of promoting and preserving the Swedish heritage."

Book ReviewMaiden of the Titanic

Published by the Midwest Writer Center, Davenport, IA 52807

ISBN: 13:978-0-9778290-2-6

Submitted by: Marie Carlson, Editor, The Vasa Star

Vasa Star May-June 2009

 

    “Many of you are probably familiar with Lilly Setterdahl. She has authored or coauthored 11 non-fiction books and several research articles to mention a few. In this book, Maiden of the Titanic, Lilly has ventured into a new field, a novel.

   Anna, A Swedish-American maid, is one of the lucky survivors from the Titanic. Her savior, Roberto, an Italian body guard, comes to her rescue, and saves her from the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Arriving in New York City, Roberto pays close attention to Anna’s recovery from injuries she sustained from the accident which has caused her loss of memory. Roberto truly cares for Anna, but he is also using the situation to his own benefit by giving Anna false identity, or is it? What will happen after she regains her memory, and what will happen to Roberto who has played such a significant part up to his moment? How will the circumstances from this accident affect their lives from this point? Will Roberto live up to being the heroic rescuer?

  While this book touches on some historical facts, you also get a feel for life in New York City and Boston at the time. This is a truly romantic novel that takes place during the early 1900, a time when there still was so much to be discovered. This novel also vividly gives you an insight to a by-gone era.

  I found this book hard to put down, a real page-turner! I am eagerly awaiting a sequel!”

 

Chicago Swedes: They spoke from the heart by Lilly Setterdahl

Chicago Swedes is a collection of 340 short stories and 300 accompanying photos that tell the stories of Swedes who emigrated and made their lives in Chicago.  Each story is just a snippet, giving a brief window into the person's life, but taken together, they offer a picture of emigrant life in Chicago, particularly during the years of the Great Depression.  The stories are summaries of oral interview completed by the author;s husband over the course of four decades, and each lists the location of the original interview record. www.swedishcouncil.org

 

"Lilly Setterdahls fina arbete med utgångspunkt från sin mans, Lennart Setterdahl, många inspelningar och fotografier från Chicago ger en utmärkt  bild av hur 'vanligt folk' levde. Den är ett viktigt komplement till de avhandlingar som lagts fram. Här möter vi människor i vardagen, människor med förhoppningar, glädjeämnen och besvikelser. Aldrig, veterligen, har så många 1900-talsimmigranter i en industristad fått komma till tals. Deras historia är viktig för förståelsen av livet inte minst under depressionen. Lilly och Lennart Setterdahls arbete förtjänar att bli en klassiker i emigranthistorien.Ä Margaretha Hedblom, Malung, Sweden