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Kielland, Alexander Lange, 1849-1906

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Alexander L. Kielland

Kielland when he was mayor of Stavanger.
Born: February 18, 1849
Stavanger, Norway
Died: April 6, 1906 (age 57)
Bergen, Norway
Occupation: Novelist, short story writer, playwright, essayist, businessman, and politician.
Nationality: Flag of Norway Norwegian
Literary movement: Realism

Alexander Lange Kielland (IPA: ɑlɛksɑndər ˈlɑŋːə ˈçɛlːɑn) (February 18, 1849 – April 6, 1906) was one of the most famous Norwegian authors of the 19th century. Born in Stavanger, Norway, he grew up in a rich merchant family[1]. Even though he was born rich he had a sincere affection for the less fortunate. And he treated his workers well when he was a factory owner. He remained a spokesman for the weak and a critic of society throughout his time as a writer. Among his most famous works are the novels Garman & Worse (1880), Skipper Worse (1882), and Poison (Gift, 1883). His short stories are also well known.

In Gift (Poison, 1883) Kielland debates the hunger for Latin which Norwegian teachers had in this area of time. The story has its peak when a young boy called Marius, is lying on his deathbed, repeating Latin grammar.

It has been debated why Kielland ended his career as a writer so early. Some believe that he was so much of a realist that he could not deal with new-romantic tendencies in Norwegian literature at the end of the 19th century. A more probable reason is that he chose to focus on his politic career. Tor Obrestad's biography of Alexander L. Kielland opens up thoughts about Kielland dying from obesity. He had several heart-attacks, he constantly gained weight and he couldn't control his great passion for food.

From 1891 he was the Mayor of his hometown, Stavanger. In 1902 he was designated county governor of Møre og Romsdal.

He is one of the so-called "The Four Greats" in Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, and Jonas Lie.[2]

Statue of Alexander Kielland in Stavanger
Statue of Alexander Kielland in Stavanger
Alexander Kielland in later years
Alexander Kielland in later years

Publications


Short stories

  • Novelletter, 1879 [3]
  • Nye novelletter, 1880
  • To Novelletter fra Danmark, 1882

Novels

  • Garman & Worse, 1880 - [4][5]
  • Arbeidsfolk, 1881
  • Else, 1881
  • Skipper Worse, 1882 [6][7]
  • Gift, 1883
  • Fortuna, 1884
  • Sne, 1886
  • Sankt Hans Fest, 1887
  • Jacob, 1891

Plays

  • Paa Hjemvejen, 1878
  • Hans Majestæts Foged, 1880
  • Det hele er Ingenting, 1880
  • Tre par, 1886
  • Bettys Formynder, 1887
  • Professoren, 1888

Essays

  • Forsvarssagen, 1890
  • Menneker og Dyr, 1891
  • Omkring Napoleon, 1905 [8]

References and notes

  1. ^ Material on Kielland
  2. ^ The Literary Masters of Norway, with Samples of Their Works; introduced by Carl Henrik Grøndahl and Nina Tjomsland; Tanum-Norli, Oslo 1978
  3. ^ Available for free download on the Internet at Project Gutenberg: Norse Tales and Sketches
  4. ^ English translation 1890: Garman and Worse. Available for free download on the Internet at Project Gutenberg: Garman and Worse
  5. ^ Garman & Worse is also available in the original Norwegian on Project Runeberg at Garman og Worse (Norwegian)
  6. ^ Skipper Worse was published in English translation in 1885 and later as one of the Harvard Classic collection.
  7. ^ Skipper Worse is also available in the original Norwegian on Project Runeberg at Skipper Worse
  8. ^ English translation 1907: Napoleon's Men and Methods

External links


This biographical information was gathered from the Alexander_Lange_Kielland page, courtesy of the Wikipedia project.

Books

Garman and Worse A Norwegian Novel
Norse Tales and Sketches
Stories by Foreign Authors: Scandinavian
Tales of Two Countries

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