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Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit". The first Norwegian Nobel laureate, he was a prolific polemicist and extremely influential in Norwegian public life and Scandinavian cultural debate. Bjørnson is considered to be one of the four great Norwegian writers, alongside Ibsen,
Lie A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deceiving or misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Lies can be inter ...
, and Kielland. He is also celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian national anthem, "
Ja, vi elsker dette landet "" (; en, "Yes, we love this country") is the Norwegian national anthem. Originally a patriotic song, it came to be commonly regarded as the ''de facto'' national anthem of Norway in the early 20th century, after being used alongside "" since th ...
". The composer
Fredrikke Waaler Fredrikke Amalie Holtemann Rynning Waaler (7 May 1865 – 2 February 1952) was a Norwegian composer, violinist, and proponent for women's rights. Waaler was born in Eidsvoll to Paul Emil Rynning and Anne Margrethe Holtermann. She married physicia ...
based a composition for voice and piano (''Spinnersken'') on a text by Bjørnson, as did
Anna Teichmüller Anna Teichmüller (11 May 1861 – 6 September 1940) was a German composer and teacher who set the works of many poets, especially Carl Hauptmann, to music. She composed most of her works at the Schreiberhau artist colony. Teichmüller was born i ...
(''Die Prinzessin'').


Childhood and education

Bjørnson was born at the farmstead of Bjørgan in
Kvikne Kvikne is a former municipality that was part of the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality of Kvikne existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1966 when it was split between the present-day municipalities of Tynset (in what is now Innl ...
, a secluded village in the
Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. It includes the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, ...
district, some sixty miles south of Trondheim. In 1837 Bjørnson's father
Peder Bjørnson Peder Elias Bjørnson (1798–1871) was a Norwegian priest, best known for being the father of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. Bjørnson was born in at the Skei farm in Søgne. He was of peasant stock and he married Inger Elise Nordraak (1808–1897) fr ...
, who was the pastor of
Kvikne Kvikne is a former municipality that was part of the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality of Kvikne existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1966 when it was split between the present-day municipalities of Tynset (in what is now Innl ...
, was transferred to the parish of
Nesset Nesset is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway on the Romsdal Peninsula. The administrative centre was the village of Eidsvåg. Other population centers included Rausand, Boggestranda, Myklebostad, Eresfjord, and Eikesdale ...
, outside
Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the ...
in Romsdal. It was in this scenic district that Bjørnson spent his childhood, living at the Nesset Parsonage. After a few years studying in the neighbouring city
Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the ...
, Bjørnson was sent at the age of 17 to Heltberg Latin School (''Heltbergs Studentfabrikk'') in Christiania to prepare for university. This was the same school that trained Ibsen,
Lie A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deceiving or misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Lies can be inter ...
, and
Vinje Vinje is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Åmot. General infor ...
. Bjørnson had realized that he wanted to pursue his talent for poetry (he had written verses since age eleven). He matriculated at the University of Oslo in 1852, soon embarking upon a career as a journalist, focusing on criticism of drama.


Early production

In 1857 Bjørnson published '' Synnøve Solbakken'', the first of his peasant novels. In 1858 this was followed by ''
Arne Arne may refer to: Places * Arne, Dorset, England, a village ** Arne RSPB reserve, a nature reserve adjacent to the village * Arné, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France * Arne (Boeotia), an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece * Arne (Thessa ...
'', in 1860 by '' En glad Gut'' (A Happy Boy), and in 1868 by '' Fiskerjentene'' (The Fisher Girls). These are the most important specimens of his ''bonde-fortellinger'' or peasant tales.. A biographical essay, 1910, by
William Morton Payne William Morton Payne (February 14, 1858, Newburyport – 1919) was an American educator, literary critic and writer. Biography Payne was the son of Henry Morton Payne, a cotton-mill machinery manufacturer in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Emma Ti ...
, a translator of various works by Bjørnson.
At least seven Danish composers wrote music based on Arne:
Morten Eskesen Morten Eskesen (5 January 1826 - 8 February 1913) was a Danish author, composer and teacher in independent and folk high schools. Early life Erikesen was born in Ulbæk in the parish of Lyne between Skjern and Varde in west Jutland. H ...
, C. J. Frydensberg,
Peter Heise Peter Heise (11 February 1830 – 12 September 1879) was a Danish composer, best known for the opera '' Drot og Marsk'' (''King and Marshal''). Heise's parents tried to press him into becoming a lawyer, but he scored highly in music at school, ...
, Anton Nielsen,
Oluf Ring Oluf Ring (24 December 1884 – 26 April 1946) was a Danish composer. See also *List of Danish composers A list of notable Denmark, Danish composers: __NOTOC__ #A, A #B, B #C, C #D, D #E, E #F, F #G, G #H, H #I, I #J, J #K, K #L, L #M, M #N, ...
,
Henrik Rung Henrik Rung (March 30, 1807 - December 12, 1871) was a Danish composer. Biography Henrik Rung was born in Copenhagen. Rung received training with the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen. He received a travel grant to study in Germany, Ital ...
, and
Sigrid Henriette Wienecke Sigrid Ingeborg Henriette Wienecke née ''Stadfeldt'' ( March 13, 1819 – April 18, 1907) was a Norwegian-Danish composer. She produced over 140 psalms and musical pieces. Biography Wienecke was born in Frederikshald, Norway to Asgeir Johns ...
. Bjørnson was anxious "to create a new saga in the light of the peasant," as he put it, and he thought this should be done, not merely in prose fiction, but in national dramas or ''folke-stykker''. The earliest of these was a one-act piece set in the 12th century, '' Mellem Slagene'' (Between the Battles), written in 1855 and produced in 1857. He was especially influenced at this time by the study of
Jens Immanuel Baggesen Jens Immanuel Baggesen (15 February 1764 – 3 October 1826) was a major Danish poet, librettist, critic, and comic writer. Life Baggesen was born at Korsør on the Danish island of Zealand on February 15, 1764. His parents were very ...
and
Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...
, during a visit to Copenhagen. ''Mellem Slagene'' was followed by '' Halte-Hulda'' (Lame Hulda) in 1858, and '' Kong Sverre'' (King Sverre) in 1861. His most important work to date was the poetic trilogy of ''
Sigurd Slembe Sigurd Magnusson Slembe (or Slembedjakn) (died 12 November 1139) was a Norwegian pretender to the throne. He was the subject of '' Sigurd Slembe'', the historical drama written by the Norwegian playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1862. Biogr ...
'' (Sigurd the Bad), which Bjørnson published in 1862.


The mature author

At the close of 1857 Bjørnson had been appointed director of the theatre at
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula ...
, a post which he held for two years, when he returned to Christiania. From 1860 to 1863 he travelled widely throughout Europe. Early in 1865 he undertook the management of the
Christiania Theatre Christiania Theatre, or ''Kristiania Theatre'', was Norway's finest stage for spoken drama from 4 October 1836 (opening date) to 1 September 1899. It was located at Bankplassen by the Akershus Fortress, in central Christiania. It was the firs ...
, and brought out his popular comedy of '' De Nygifte'' (The Newly Married) and his romantic tragedy of Mary Stuart in Scotland. In 1870 he published ''Poems and Songs'' and the epic cycle ''
Arnljot Gelline ''Arnljot'' is an opera by the Swedish composer Wilhelm Peterson-Berger. Written in 1906, it premiered April 13, 1910, and was revised in 1956. The origin to ''Arnljot'' is a melody that Wilhelm Peterson-Berger created when he first visited J ...
''; the latter volume contains the ode ''Bergliot'', one of Bjørnson's finest contributions to lyrical poetry. Between 1864 and 1874, Bjørnson displayed a slackening of the intellectual forces very remarkable in a man of his energy; he was mainly occupied with politics and with his business as a theatrical manager. This was the period of Bjørnson's most fiery propaganda as a radical agitator. In 1871 he began to supplement his journalistic work by delivering lectures throughout Scandinavia. From 1874 to 1876 Bjørnson was absent from Norway, and in the peace of voluntary exile he recovered his imaginative powers. His new departure as a dramatic author began with ''En fallit'' (A Bankruptcy) and ''Redaktøren'' (The Editor) in 1874, social dramas of an extremely modern and realistic cast.


Collaborations with Grieg

In the 1870's Bjørnson and the composer Edvard Grieg, who shared his interests in Norwegian self-government, became friends. Grieg set several of his poems to music, including ''Landkjenning'' and ''Sigurd Jorsalfar''. Eventually they decided on an opera based on ''King Olav Trygvason'', but a dispute as to whether music or lyrics should be created first, led to Grieg being diverted to working on incidental music for Henrik Ibsen's play
Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...
, which naturally offended Bjørnson . Eventually their friendship was resumed.


The "national poet"

Bjørnson settled on his estate of
Aulestad Aulestad is a farm and writer's house museum in Follebu in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located along County Road Fv255 (''Bjørnsonvegen'') between Vinstra and Hovemoen. The farm is best known as the former residence of Karoline and Bj ...
in
Gausdal Gausdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segalstad bru. Other villages in Gausdal include Follebu, Forse ...
. In 1877 he published another novel, '' Magnhild'', in which his ideas on social questions were seen to be in a state of fermentation, and gave expression to his republican sentiments in the polemical play ''Kongen'' (The King). In a later edition of the play, he prefixed an essay on " Intellectual Freedom" in further explanation of his position. '' Kaptejn Mansana'' (Captain Mansana), an episode of the war of Italian independence, was written in to 1878. Extremely anxious to obtain full success on the stage, Bjørnson concentrated his powers on a drama of social life, ''Leonarda'' (1879), which raised a violent controversy. A satirical play, ''Det nye System'' (The New System), was produced a few weeks later. Although these plays of Bjørnson's second period were greatly discussed, few were financially successful. Bjørnson produced a social drama, ''En Handske'' (A Gauntlet), in 1883, but was unable to persuade any manager to stage it except in a modified form. In the autumn of the same year, Bjørnson published a mystical or symbolic drama ''Over Ævne'' (Beyond Powers), dealing with the abnormal features of religious excitement with extraordinary force; this was not acted until 1899, when it achieved a great success.


Political interests

From his youth and forwards, Bjørnson admired
Henrik Wergeland Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland (17 June 1808 – 12 July 1845) was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist. He is often described as a leading pioneer in the develo ...
, and became a vivid spokesman for the Norwegian Left-wing movement. In this respect, he supported
Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from ...
, and joined forces in the political struggles in the 1860s and 1870s. When the great monument over Henrik Wergeland were to be erected in 1881, it came to political struggle between left and right, and the left-wing got the upper hand. Bjørnson presented the speech on behalf of Wergeland, and also honouring the constitution and the farmers. Bjørnson's political opinions had brought upon him a charge of high treason, and he took refuge for a time in Germany, returning to Norway in 1882. Convinced that the theatre was practically closed to him, he turned back to the novel, and published in 1884 ''Det flager i Byen og paa Havnen'' (Flags are Flying in Town and Port), embodying his theories on heredity and education. In 1889 he printed another long and still more remarkable novel, ''Paa Guds veje'' (On God's Path), which is chiefly concerned with the same problems. The same year saw the publication of a comedy, '' Geografi og Kærlighed'' (Geography and Love), which met with success. A number of short stories, of a more or less didactic character, dealing with startling points of emotional experience, were collected and published 1894. Later plays were a political tragedy called ''Paul Lange og Tora Parsberg'' (1898), a second part of ''Over Ævne'' (Beyond Powers II) (1895), ''Laboremus'' (1901), ''På Storhove'' (At Storhove) (1902), and ''Daglannet'' (Dag's Farm) (1904). In 1899, at the opening of the National Theatre, Bjørnson received an ovation, and his saga-drama of King
Sigurd the Crusader Sigurd Magnusson (1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd the Crusader (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Jórsalafari'', Norwegian: ''Sigurd Jorsalfar''), was King of Norway (being Sigurd I) from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-broth ...
was performed at the opening of
Nationaltheatret The National Theatre in Oslo ( no, Nationaltheatret) is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts. History The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiani ...
in Oslo. Bjørnson was one of the contributors of the anti-Union magazine, ''
Ringeren ''Ringeren'' was a Norwegian weekly political magazine which existed between 1898 and 1899. The magazine was founded by Sigurd Ibsen and was headquartered in Kristiania, Norway. History and profile ''Ringeren'' was established as a weekly magazi ...
'', edited by
Sigurd Ibsen Sigurd Ibsen (23 December 1859 – 14 April 1930) was a Norwegian author, lawyer and statesman, who served as the prime minister of Norway in Stockholm (1903–1905) and played a central role in the dissolution of the union between Norway and ...
in 1898. A subject which interested him greatly was the question of the bondemaal, the adopting of a national language for Norway distinct from the ''dansk-norsk'' (Dano-Norwegian), in which most Norwegian literature had hitherto been written. At an early stage, before 1860, Bjørnson had himself experimented with at least one short story written in
landsmål Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-Nor ...
. The interest, however, did not last, and he soon abandoned this enterprise altogether. Afterwards, he regretted that he never felt he gained the mastery of this language. Bjørnson's strong and sometimes rather narrow patriotism did not blind him to what he considered the fatal folly of such a proposal, and his lectures and pamphlets against the ''målstræv'' in its extreme form were very effective. His attitude towards this must have changed sometime after 1881, as he still spoke on behalf of the farmers at this point. Although he seems to have been supportive of
Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from ...
and friendly towards farmers (in the peasant-novels), he later denounced this, and stated in 1899 that there was limits to a farmer's cultivation. ''I can draw a line on the wall. The farmer can cultivate himself to this level, and no more'', he wrote in 1899. Rumour has it that he had been insulted by a farmer at some point, and uttered the statement in sheer anger. In 1881, he spoke of the farmer's clothing borne by Henrik Wergeland, and his opinion then states that this garment, worn by Wergeland, was "of the most influential things" in the initiation of the national day. Bjørnson's attitude towards the farmers remain ambiguous. His father himself was a farmer's son. During the last twenty years of his life he wrote hundreds of articles in major European papers. He attacked the French justice in the Dreyfus Affair, and he fought for the rights of children in Slovakia to learn their own mother tongue. "To detach children from their mother tongue is identical to tearing them away from their mothers breasts," he wrote. Bjørnson wrote in multiple newspapers about the
Černová massacre The Černová massacre (or Černová tragedy, sk, Černovská tragédia, hu, Csernovai tragédia or Csernova Affair) was a shooting that took place in Csernova, Kingdom of Hungary (today Černová, part of Ružomberok, Slovakia) on 27 October ...
under the title The greatest industry of Hungary – which was supposedly ' to produce Magyars'.


Last years

Bjørnson was, from the beginning of the
Dreyfus Affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...
, a staunch supporter of
Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...
, and, according to a contemporary, wrote "article after article in the papers and proclaimed in every manner his belief in his innocence". Bjørnson was one of the original members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, that awards the Nobel Peace Prize, where he sat from 1901 to 1906. In 1903 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Bjørnson had done as much as any other man to rouse Norwegian nationalistic feeling, but in 1903, on the verge of the rupture between Norway and Sweden, he preached conciliation and moderation to the Norwegians. However, in 1905 he largely remained silent. When Norway was attempting to dissolve the forced union with Sweden, Bjørnson sent a telegram to the Norwegian Prime minister stating, "Now is the time to unite." The minister replied, "Now is the time to shut up." This was in fact a satirical illustration published in ''
Vikingen ''Vikingen'' (meaning ''The Viking'' in English) is a former Norwegian satirical magazine, published from 1862 to 1947. Among the contributors were the satirical illustrators Olaf Krohn, Andreas Bloch, Gustav Lærum and Olaf Gulbransson. Hi ...
'', but the story got so popular and widespread that Bjørnson had to deny it, claiming that "Michelsen has never asked me to shut up; it would not help if he did". He died on 26 April 1910 in Paris, where for some years he had spent his winters, and was buried at home with every mark of honour. The Norwegian
coastal defence ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...
was sent to convey his remains back to his own land.


Bjørnson's family

Bjørnson was the son of the Reverend Mr. Peder Bjørnson and Inger Elise Nordraach. He married Karoline Reimers (1835–1934) in 1858. They had six children, five of whom lived to adulthood: *
Bjørn Bjørnson Bjørn Bjørnson (15 November 1859 – 14 May 1942) was a Norwegian stage actor and theatre director. Biography He was born in Christiania, the son of author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and his wife Karoline Bjørnson. In 1876, he was admitted ...
(1859–1942) *Einar Bjørnson (1864–1942) *
Erling Bjørnson Erling Bjørnson (19 April 1868 – 7 December 1959) was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Agrarian Party and later Nasjonal Samling. He was born in Copenhagen, the son of Karoline and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. He was elected to the Par ...
(1868–1959) * Bergliot Bjørnson (1869–1953) *Dagny Bjørnson (1871–1872) *Dagny Bjørnson (1876–1974)
Karoline Bjørnson Karoline Bjørnson (née Reimers, 1 December 1835 – 27 June 1934) was a Norwegian actress. She is best known as the wife and supporter of poet, playwright, popular speaker and Nobel laureate Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. Biography Karoline J ...
remained at Aulestad until her death in 1934. In his early fifties, Bjørnson had an affair with 17-year-old Guri Andersdotter (d. 1949), which resulted in the birth of their son, Anders Underdal (1880–1973). The affair was kept a secret, though early on Anders Underdal, a poet, would talk about his origins with his children. Later in life he stopped discussing the matter, no reason was given. Anders was the father of Norwegian-Swedish author
Margit Sandemo Margit Sandemo (née Underdal, 23 April 1924 – 1 September 2018) was a Norwegian-Swedish historical fantasy author. She had been the best-selling author in the Nordic countries since the 1980s, when her novel series of 47 books, '' The Legend ...
. Audun Thorsen has written a book about Bjørnson's affair; "Bjørnsons kvinne og Margit Sandemos "familiehemmelighet" (Genesis forlag, Oslo 1999).


Bibliography

*''Mellem Slagene'', (Between the Battles) saga drama, 1857 *''Synnøve Solbakken'', peasant story, 1857 *''Arne'', 1859 *''En glad Gut'', (A Happy Boy) 1860 *''Halte-Hulda'', (Lame Hulda) 1858 *''Kong Sverre'', (King Sverre) 1861 *''
Sigurd Slembe Sigurd Magnusson Slembe (or Slembedjakn) (died 12 November 1139) was a Norwegian pretender to the throne. He was the subject of '' Sigurd Slembe'', the historical drama written by the Norwegian playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1862. Biogr ...
'', (Sigurd the Bad) 1862 *''Maria Stuart i Skotland'', (Mary Stuart in Scotland) 1863 *''De Nygifte'', (The Newly Married) 1865 *''Fiskerjenten'', 1868 *''Arnljot Gelline'', epic cycle 1870 *''Digte og Sange'', (Poems and Songs) 1880 *''Brudeslåtten'', peasant story, 1872 *''Sigurd Jorsalfar'', saga drama, 1872 *'' En fallit'', (The Bankrupt) drama, 1875 *''Redaktøren'', (The Editor) drama, 1875 *''Kaptejn Mansana'', (Captain Mansana) novel, 1875 *''Kongen'', (The King) 1877 *''Magnhild'', 1877 *''Det ny system'', (The New System) 1879 *''Leonarda'', 1879 *''En hanske'' (A Gauntlet), 1883 *''Støv'' (Dust), 1882 *''Over ævne, første stykke'', (Beyond Human Power – I) 1883 *''Det flager i byen og på havnen'', (translated as "The Heritage of the Kurts") 1884 *''På guds veje'', (In God's Way) 1889 *''Fred'', oratorium, 1891 *''Over ævne, annet stykke'', (Beyond Human Power – II) 1895 *''Paul Lange og Tora Parsberg'', 1898 *''Daglannet'', 1904 *''Når den ny vin blomstrer'', (When the New Wine Blooms) 1909 *''Norges Vel'', cantata, 1909


See also

*
Nordic sexual morality debate The Nordic sexual morality debate (Danish: ''sædelighedsfejden'', Swedish: ''sedlighetsdebatten'', Norwegian: ''sedelighetsdebatten'') was the name for a cultural movement and public debate in Scandinavia in the 1880s, where sexuality and sexual ...


References


Sources

* Brandes, Georg (1899)
''Henrik Ibsen. Björnstjerne Björnson. Critical Studies''
London: William Heinemann. * Payne, William Morton (1910)
''Björnstjerne Björnson, 1832–1910''
Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co. * Collin, Christen (1907)
''Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson hans Barndom og Ungdom''
Kristiania: H. Aschehoug & Co. * Larson, Harold (1944)
''Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson: A Study in Norwegian Nationalism''
New York: King's Crown Press. * Haugen, Eva Lund; and
Einar Haugen Einar Ingvald Haugen (; April 19, 1906 – June 20, 1994) was an American linguist, writer, and professor at University of Wisconsin–Madison and Harvard University. Biography Haugen was born in Sioux City, Iowa, to Norwegian immigrants from ...
(1978). ''Bjørnson: Land of the Free. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson's American Letters 1880–1881''. Northfield, Minn.: Norwegian-American Historical Association. * Haugen, Einar (1978). ''The Vocabulary of Bjørnson's Literary Works''. N.Y.: Columbia University Press. * Amdam, Per (1978). ''Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson''. J.W. Cappelen. *


Further reading

* Boyesen, Hjalmar Hjorth (1873)
"Björnstjerne Björnson as a Dramatist,"
''The North American Review'', Vol. 116, No. 238, pp. 109–138. * Boyesen, Hjalmar Hjorth (1895)
"Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson."
In: ''Essays on Scandinavian Literature''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. * Brandes, Georg (1886)
"Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson."
In: ''Eminent Authors of the Nineteenth Century.'' New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. * Buchanan, Robert (1872)
"Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson,"
''The Contemporary Review'' 21, pp. 45–62. * Gosse, Edmund (1890)
"Norwegian Poetry Since 1814."
In: ''Northern Studies''. London: Walter Scott. * Jorgenson, Theodore (1933)
"Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson."
In: ''History of Norwegian Literature''. New York: The Macmillan Company. * Lewisohn, Ludwig (1915)
"The Scandinavian Theater."
In: ''The Modern Drama, an Essay in Interpretation''. New York: B.W Huebsch. * Naess, Harald S. (1993). ''A History of Norwegian Literature''. University of Nebraska Press. * Nordberg, Carl E. (1920)
''The Peasant Stories of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson''
Minneapolis, Minn.: The Free Church Book Concern. * Payne, William Morton (1903)
"Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson,"
''The International Quarterly'' 7, pp. 171–191. * Phelps, William Lyon (1918)
"Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson."
In: ''Essays on Modern Novelists''. New York: The Macmillan Company. * Quiller-Couch, A.T. (1896)
"Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson."
In: ''Adventures in Criticism.'' London: Cassell & Company, pp. 346–354. * Schmiesing, Ann (2004). "The Christiania Theater and Norwegian Nationalism: Bjørnson's Defense of the 1856 Whistle Concerts in 'Pibernes Program'," ''Scandinavian Studies'', Vol. 76, No. 3, pp. 317–340. * Willcox, Louise Collier (1910)
"Bjornstjerne Bjornson,"
''The North American Review'', Vol. 192, No. 656, pp. 44–55.


External links


Digitized books and manuscripts by Bjørnson
in the National Library of Norway *
List of works
** (a biographical essay, 1910, by
William Morton Payne William Morton Payne (February 14, 1858, Newburyport – 1919) was an American educator, literary critic and writer. Biography Payne was the son of Henry Morton Payne, a cotton-mill machinery manufacturer in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Emma Ti ...
, a translator of various works by Bjørnson) * *
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson bibliography : newspaper articles and speeches by Bjørnson 1850–1910, literature on Bjørnson 1861–2010
(National Library of Norway)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bjornson, Bjornstjerne 1832 births 1910 deaths People from Tynset 19th-century Norwegian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian novelists Nobel laureates in Literature Norwegian Nobel laureates Norwegian newspaper editors Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour People from Molde People from Gausdal National anthem writers The Four Greats Language reformers