Fridtjof Knutsen (15 December 1894 – 4 August 1961) was a Norwegian journalist and crime novelist. He was born in

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the Harstad (town), town of Harstad, the most populous town in Centra ...

, and was married to

Lalli Knutsen Lalli is an apocryphal character from Finnish history. According to the legend, he killed Bishop Henry on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland on January 20, 1156. Legend The story begins with an expedition of one of the first Christian ...

. Their daughter Mette Knutsen married

Philip Newth Philip Newth (born 20 January 1939) is an Anglo-Norwegian author of children's literature. He has written more than fifty books, including books for deaf and blind children. Personal life Newth was born in Worcester, England, as the son of acto ...

and had the son Eirik Newth. Knutsen was a journalist in ''

Dagsposten ''Dagsposten'' ("Daily Mail") was a Norwegian newspaper, published in Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county. History and profile ''Dagsposten'' was started on 2 October 1877 by Olai Olsen. He chose a connection with the liberal politician Johan Sve ...

'' from 1914, ''

Morgenposten ''Morgenposten'' is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1861 to 1971. It was the largest newspaper in Norway from the 1870s until the early 1900s, when its name was ''Christiania Nyheds- og Avertissements-Blad'', also nicknamed ''Sv ...

'' from, ''

Tidens Tegn ''Tidens Tegn'' (Norwegian: ''Sign of the Times'') is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1910 to 1941. Editors The founder and first editor-in-chief of ''Tidens Tegn'' was Ola Thommessen, who edited the newspaper until 1917. Tho ...

'' from 1917 and ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

'' from 1934. He specifically reported from court cases. Some years after his death he was also called one of "the three great criminal and police reporters in

Oslo 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 ...

", together with

Georg Svendsen Georg "Mr. George" Svendsen (19 March 1894 – 1966) was a Norwegian journalist and crime novelist. He was born in Eidanger, and started his journalistic career in '' Bratsberg-Demokraten'' before moving on to ''Demokraten'' where he was a subedito ...

and Axel Kielland. Knutsen also wrote about 30 criminal novels, many together with his wife. Many were Norwegian adaptations of books originally written by

Betty Cavanna Betty Cavanna (June 24, 1909 – August 13, 2001) was the author of popular teen romance novels, mysteries, and children's books for 45 years. She also wrote under the names Elizabeth Headley and Betsy Allen. She was nominated for the Edgar Awar ...

, Berkeley Gray (

Edwy Searles Brooks Edwy Searles Brooks (11 November 1889 – 2 December 1965) was a British novelist who also wrote under the pen-names Berkeley Gray, Victor Gunn, Rex Madison, and Carlton Ross. Brooks was born in Hackney, London. He is believed to have written ...

Carolyn Keene Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery stories and The Dana Girls mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. In addition, the Keene pen name is credited with the Nancy Drew spin-off, ''River H ...

(several people), Helen Louise Thorndyke (several people) and Clair Blank ( Clarissa Mabel Blank Moyer).List of publications
in BIBSYS Knutsen also wrote about 30

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

s under the pseudonym Filius Kanuti. Non-fiction books include ''De tause vitner: av rettskjemiker Ch. Bruffs memoarer'' (1949, with Georg Svendsen).

References

1894 births 1961 deaths People from Harstad Norwegian crime writers Norwegian non-fiction writers 20th-century novelists 20th-century Norwegian journalists {{Norway-writer-stub