Jonas Lauritz Idemil Lie (; 6 November 1833 – 5 July 1908) was a Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright who, together with

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 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 ...

and Alexander Kielland, is considered to have been one of '' the Four Greats'' of 19th century Norwegian literature.

Background

Jonas Lie was born at Hokksund in Øvre Eiker, in the county of

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

, Norway. His parents were Pauline Christine Tiller (1799–1877) and Mons Lie (1803–81). Five years after Jonas's birth, his father was appointed sheriff of

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

, which lies within the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

, and young Jonas Lie spent six of the most impressionable years of his life at that remote port. He was sent to the naval school at Fredriksværn; but his defective eyesight caused him to give up a life at sea. He transferred to the Bergen Cathedral School (''Bergen katedralskole'') in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, and in 1851 entered the University of Christiania, where he made the acquaintance of

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

and Bjørnson. He graduated in law in 1857, and shortly afterwards began to practice at

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

, a town located between Lake

Mjøsa Mjøsa is the largest lake in Norway and the fourth deepest in Norway and Europe. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about north of the city of Oslo. Its main tributary is the river Gudbrandsdalslågen flowing in from the north; the ...

and the border with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Career

Clients were not numerous at Kongsvinger and Lie found time to write for the newspapers and became a frequent contributor to some of the Christiania journals. His first work was a volume of poems which appeared in 1866 and was not successful. During the four following years he devoted himself almost exclusively to journalism, working hard and without much reward, but acquiring the pen of a ready writer and obtaining command of a style which has proved serviceable in his subsequent career. Between 1863 and 1864 Lie edited a magazine '' Illustreret Nyhedsblad''. In 1870 he published ''Den Fremsynte'', a powerful tale of the sea and superstitions centering on

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

. In the following year he revisited Nordland and traveled into

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

. Starting from 1874, the Norwegian Parliament had granted him an artist salary. Having obtained this small pension from the Government, he sought the greatest contrast he could find in Europe to the scenes of his childhood and started for

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. For a time he lived in North Germany, then he moved to

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, spending his winters in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1882 he visited Norway for a time, but returned to the continent of Europe. His voluntary exile from his native land ended in the spring of 1893, when he settled at Holskogen, near

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

. His works were numerous after that.

Works

In his works, Jonas Lie often sought to reflect in his writings the nature, folk life, and social spirit of the nation of Norway. His writing often dealt with family life in diverse settings, including portraying the social and intellectual restrictions on women of the educated classes. Lie was a versatile writer, liberal and modern, but also strongly tradition bound. Among Lie's finest works must be considered ''Familien paa Gilje'' (1883) which was a striking document of the life of an officer's family, and the few options given to the daughters of such families. His two collections of short stories called ''Trold'' involve the superstitions of the fishermen and coast commoners of northern Norway. The much anthologized short story ''Elias and the Draugh'' was included in a collection originally published by

Gyldendal Norsk Forlag Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS, commonly referred to as Gyldendal N.F. and in Norway often only as Gyldendal, is one of the largest Norway, Norwegian publishing houses. It was founded in 1925 after buying rights to publications from the Denmark, Dan ...

, and was reprinted by

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

in ''Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories'' (1983).

Personal life

In 1860, he married his cousin Thomasine Henriette Lie (1833–1907). The couple had five children. Two died young; the others were diplomat Michael Strøm Lie (1862–1934) and writers Mons Lie (1864–1931) and Erik Røring Møinichen Lie (1869–1943). Jonas Lie was the uncle of the author Bernt Lie (1868–1916). Henriette Thomasine Lie was the aunt of Jonas Lie, the Norwegian-born American painter. His grandson, also named Jonas Lie, served as the Minister of Police under Norway's collaborationist Quisling government. Jonas Lie died at Fleskum at

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a List of cities in Norway, city by the municipal council (Norway), municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately ...

in 1908, less than a year after Thomasine's death.

Legacy

In 1904, the King of Norway awarded Lie the Grand Cross of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

Works in English translation

* ''Little Grey'' (1873, translated by Mrs. Arbuthnott). * '' The Pilot and His Wife'' (1876, translated by Sara Chapman Thorp Bull; and again by G.L. Tottenham, 1877). * ''The Barque Future'' (1879, translated by Sara Chapman Thorp Bull). * ''The Commodore's Daughter'' (1892, translated by H.L. Brækstad and Gertrude Hughes). * ''Weird Tales from Northern Seas '' (1893, translated by R. Nisbet Bain). * ''The Visionary'' (1894, translated by Jessie Muir). * ''One of Life's Slaves'' (1895). * ''Niobe'' (1897, translated by H.L. Brækstad). * ''Selected Stories and Poems'' (1914). * ''The Family at Gilje'' (1920, translated by Samuel Coffin Eastman). * ''The Seer & Other Norwegian Stories'' (1990, translated by Brian Morton & Richard Trevor).

References

External links

;Electronic collections * * * *
Jonas Lie's texts online (in Norwegian)
;Physical collections and others
Digitized books and manuscripts by Lie
in the

National Library of Norway The National Library of Norway () was established in 1989. Its principal task is "to preserve the past for the future". The library is located both in Oslo and in Mo i Rana. The building in Oslo was restored and reopened in 2005. Prior to the e ...

Family genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lie, Jonas 1833 births 1908 deaths People from Øvre Eiker People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School University of Oslo alumni Norwegian magazine editors 19th-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian novelists 19th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Norwegian male novelists 19th-century Norwegian male writers 20th-century Norwegian male writers The Four Greats Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people