Johan Falkberget, born Johan Petter Lillebakken, (30 September 1879 – 5 April 1967) was a Norwegian author. He was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

Life and career

Johan Falkberget was born on the Lillebakken farm in the Rugldal valley of Røros Municipality,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The area was known for its copper mines. In 1891, he began to write his Christianus Sextus trilogy, though it was not published until later. He formally changed his surname for writing purposes in 1893, from Lillebakken to Falkberget—the name of the farm he then lived on (this was a normal practice in those days). His first work was published in 1902. In 1906 he quit his job as a miner and found a job as editor of the newspaper '' Nybrott'' in

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

. In 1908 he traveled to Fredrikstad and edited '' Smaalenenes Socialdemokrat''. He then received a government-sponsored scholarship and traveled to

Kirkenes (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsu ...

. From 1909 to 1922 his primary residence and workplace was in Kristiania (now Oslo). In 1922 he returned to Røros and lived on the Ratvolden farm, less than 1 km from the Falkberget farm. His Ratvolden house is now a museum. While living there, he represented the Norwegian Labour Party (''Arbeiderpartiet'') for Sør-Trøndelag in the Storting from 1931 to 1933. Since he grew up in a mining area and began his career as a miner, his works drew extensively on his experiences with the people, the country culture and mining. His breakthrough work in 1923 was a novel titled '' Den fjerde nattevakt'' (), a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

set in the first half of the 19th century in and around the mines. This was followed by his «Christianus Sextus» trilogy, set in the 1720s, in which the mining culture is also a central theme. Falkberget contributed extensively to the newspaper '' Fjell-Ljom''. He died on 5 April 1967 and is buried in the family plot in the upper churchyard at Røros.

Authorship

"The miners' toil and rhythm of life became the fulcrum of Falkberget's literature", according to biographer Sturle Kojen.

Important works

::''Many of his works are not available in English translation. Those that are, have been noted with the English equivalent title next to the Norwegian title.'' *1902 ''Når livskvelden kjem - Forteljing'' *1903 ''Bjarne - Et billede fra en fjellbygd'' *1905 ''Vaarsus - Fortælling'' *1905 ''Moseflyer - Skitser og sagn fra Dovrefjeld'' *1906 ''Hauk Uglevatn - Fortælling fra Dovrefjeld'' *1907 ''Svarte Fjelde - Fortælling'' *1908 ''Mineskud'' *1908 ''Ved den evige sne - Fortælling I'' *1909 ''Fakkelbrand'' *1909 ''Urtidsnat'' *1910 ''Vargfjeldet - Smaa fortællinger'' *1910 ''Nord i haugene - Eventyr'' *1911 ''Fimbulvinter'' *1912 ''En finnejentes kjærlighetshistorie'' *1912 ''Jutul-historier - Fortalt av 'n Soplim-Tosten sjøl'' *1913 ''Eli Sjursdotter'' *1913 ''Eventyr. Nord i Haugene og Jutulhistorier'' *1914 ''Simen Mustrøen. Karikaturkomedie'' *1914 ''Av Jarleæt'' *1915 ''Lisbet paa Jarnfjeld'' *1916 ''Eventyrfjeld. Historier for barn'' *1916 ''Helleristninger. Historier fra fjeldet og jagten'' *1917 ''Brændoffer'' *1918 ''Rott jer sammen'' *1918 ''Sol. En historie fra 1600 tallet'' *1919 ''Barkebrødstider - Nye fortællinger'' *1919 ''Vidden - Fortællinger'' *1919 ''Bjørneskytteren'' *1920 '' Bør Børson - Olderdalens største sønn'' *1920 ''Byd lykken haanden eller da Johannes Mo løste rebusen'' *1920 ''Bør Børson jr.'' *1921 ''Naglerne. Eller jernet fra Norden og andre fortellinger'' *1923 ''Den fjerde nattevakt'' (The Fourth Night Watch) *1924 ''I Nordenvindens land'' *1925 ''Vers fra Rugelsjøen'' *1926 ''Anders Reitan. Liv og virke 1826-1926'' *1927 ''Den nye Bør Børson jr.'' *1927 ''Christianus Sextus. De første geseller'' (CHRISTIANUS SEXTUS - trilogy: The First Journeyman) *1928 ''Det høie fjeld'' *1928 ''Solfrid i Bjørnstu og de syv svende'' *1929 ''I forbifarten'' *1931 ''Christianus Sextus. I hammerens tegn'' (CHRISTIANUS SEXTUS - trilogy: The Sign of the Hammer) *1933 ''Der stenene taler'' *1935 ''Christianus Sextus. Tårnvekteren''(CHRISTIANUS SEXTUS - trilogy: The Tower Watch) *1936 ''I vakttårnet'' *1940 ''Nattens Brød. An-Magritt'' *1944 ''Runer på fjellveggen. Sagn og fortellinger'' *1946 ''Nattens Brød. Plogjernet'' (The Plough) *1948 ''I lyset fra min bergmannslampe'' *1952 ''Nattens Brød. Johannes'' *1959 ''Nattens Brød. Kjærlighets veier'' (Love's Way) *1963 ''Jeg så dem --'' *1964 ''Vers fra Rugelsjøen og andre dikt''

Awards

Gyldendal's Endowment The Gyldendal Prize, formerly Gyldendal's Endowment, is a Norwegian literary prize awarded by the Norway, Norwegian publisher Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. Gyldendal's Endowment was awarded from 1934 to 1995. It was superseded by the Gyldendal Prize in ...

for 1939 * Nominated for the Nobel Prize thirty-six times.

References

External links

NRK: Johan FalkbergetFamily genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkberget, Johan 1879 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian male writers Labour Party (Norway) politicians Sør-Trøndelag politicians People from Røros Dobloug Prize winners Members of the Storting 1931–1933