''Letters from Hell'' ( da, Breve fra Helvede) is a didactic

Christian novel A Christian novel is a Christian literary novel which features Christian media genre conventions. The tradition of Christian fiction Christian novels are works of imaginative literature drawing on Christian themes, theology, and social norms. ...

by the Danish priest and author Valdemar Adolph Thisted (1815–1887), The work was published in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1866 and went through 12 editions in its first year. The setting of the novel is

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

, a typical

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

setting.

Plot summary

The narrator, Otto, who has died in the prime of life, relates the torments and regrets that are a consequence of the self-centred and dissipated life he led in the world. He also describes the fates of other lost souls who inhabit

, concluding with the arrival in Hell of the narrator's mother. Some of the book's descriptions of Hell are reminiscent of Emanuel Swedenborg's '' Heaven and Hell''.

Translations

An English edition of ''Letters from Hell'' appeared in 1866, under the pseudonym of M Rowel. The translator was Rev.

Mordaunt Roger Barnard Mordaunt Roger Barnard, Rev. (22 December 1828 – 2 July 1906) was a Church of England clergyman and translator of works from Scandinavian languages. He was the eldest son of Mordaunt Barnard, Rector of Preston Bagot, a rural dean and JP for Esse ...

. The book's title caused it to be banned by Mudie's circulating library. ''Letters from Hell'' went through several editions in the 19th century, one of which (1884) contained a preface by

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll. I ...

. Thisted's name does not appear in these editions and the translation is attributed to LWJS. In a 1911 edition, the translator is identified as Julie Sutter.

Reception

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

had read ''Letters from Hell'' and something of its influence may be detected in '' The Screwtape Letters''.

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

was absorbed by the book and found details reminiscent of his own fairy-tales."The Life of Hans Christian Andersen. Day By Day", by Johan de Mylius
/ref>

References

External links

see Letters from Hell
''Letters from Hell'' Vol 1

''Letters from Hell'' Vo 2''Letters from Hell'' Complete
1866 novels 1866 fantasy novels Christian novels Epistolary novels Novels set in hell {{epistolary-novel-stub