Finn Havrevold (11 August 1905 – 18 February 1988) was a Norwegian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer,

children's writer Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

, playwright, illustrator and

theatre critic Theatre criticism is a genre of arts criticism, and the act of writing or speaking about the performing arts such as a play or opera. Theatre criticism is distinct from drama criticism, as the latter is a division of literary criticism whereas t ...

Personal life

Havrevold was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

as the son of wholesaler Lauritz Paulsen Havrevold and Marta Malena Nielsen. He was a brother of actor

Olafr Havrevold Olafr Havrevold (26 May 1895 – 11 July 1972) was a Norwegian engineer and actor. Biography He was born at Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Lauritz Paulsen Havrevold (1859–1940) and Marta Malena Nielsen (1873–1927). ...

and psychiatrist Odd Havrevold. He was married to journalist Gunvor Øwre.

Career

Havrevold was educated as

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, graduating from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1929. In the 1930s he worked as a freelance book illustrator. He made his literary debut in 1939 with the short story collection ''Det raker ikke Andersen'', about juvenile loneliness and uncertainty. His novel ''Til de dristige'' from 1946 describes a war hero who lost his girlfriend to his brother during the war. In 1947 he published the novel ''Walter den fredsommelige'', followed by ''Skredet'' from 1949. In the 1950s he wrote radio critics for the newspaper ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newspa ...

'', and theatre critics for the magazine '' Urd''. Havrevold's first book for children was ''Sommereventyret'' from 1952, about the tough girl "Tine" and the sissy "Jan". ''Drømmeveggen'' from 1953 pictures how "Mia"'s daydreams interfere with her daily activities. ''Den ensomme kriger'' from 1955 is about "Edvard" whose playing roles become a bit too realistic, for instance when he is a pirate leader or detective. In '' Marens lille ugle'' from 1957, "Maren" has a small toy owl who needs comfort every time Maren is scared. The book was adapted into a film by

Ivo Caprino Ivo Caprino (17 February 1920 – 8 February 2001) was a Norwegian film director and writer, best known for his puppet films. His most noted film, '' Flåklypa Grand Prix'' ("Pinchcliffe Grand Prix"), was made in 1975. Early life Caprino ...

, called ''Ugler i mosen''. Havrevold's first play was the comedy ''Jubileum'' from 1951. His play ''Uretten'' premiered at

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 Christia ...

in January 1955, staged by Agnes Mowinckel. The heroin character "Helle", played by

Liv Strømsted Liv Dommersnes (née Strømsted; 28 September 1922 – 6 April 2014) was a Norwegian actress and reciter of poetry. She was a member of group that founded Studioteatret in 1945. Personal life Liv Strømsted was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norw ...

is surrounded by three miserable men.Rønneberg 1974: pp. 87-88 The play resulted in a fierce debate on women's rights. The play ''Tomannsboligen'' was staged at Nationaltheatret in February 1960. The setting is two very different married couples sharing a duplex house. He wrote several audio plays for

Radioteatret Radioteatret is a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation which produces audio plays for radio broadcasting. It was established in 1927. In January 2021, ''Verdens Gang'' cited a report from NTB, saying that Radioteatret ow isbeing ...

. His play ''Gruppen'' from 1968 was staged at Oslo Nye Teater. Havrevold published the misanthropic novel ''Den ytterste dag'' in 1963, the novel ''De gjenstridige'' in 1965, and the modernist novel ''Blå rytter'' in 1968. From 1977 to 1980 he wrote a series of autobiographical books. He was awarded the

Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment Mads Wiel Nygaard's Endowment is an annually awarded literary prize from the publishing house Aschehoug. The prize is a recognition of superior literary work. The publisher's editorial management makes the award based on their collective judgement ...

in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Havrevold, Finn 1905 births 1988 deaths Artists from Oslo Norwegian children's writers Norwegian theatre critics Norwegian illustrators Radio critics 20th-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian dramatists and playwrights Norwegian male dramatists and playwrights Norwegian male novelists