Rudolf Muus (February 19, 1862 – November 9, 1935) was a
Norwegian author of popular literature.
Biography
Rudolf Wilhelm Muus was born at
Aker
Aker may refer to:
Places
* Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway
* Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Aker Br ...
in
Akershus
Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. He was the son of Abraham Falch Muus, and his grandfather was Isach Muus, the owner of Åsen and Ullevål farms. Rudolf grew up at Åsen farm, close to the working class districts of
Sagene and
Torshov
Torshov is a neighborhood north of Grünerløkka and Lilleborg in the borough Sagene in Oslo, Norway. Oslo Tramway (''Trikken i Oslo'') provides connections with lines running between Majorstuen and Kjelsås. Vogts gate serves as the main str ...
. The site now used by ''Ragna Ringdals Dagsenter'', a non-profit center for the mentally disabled in Oslo.
He started writing at about the age of six, and at school he was given 50
øre
Øre (plural ''øre'', ) is the centesimal subdivision of the Danish and Norwegian krones. The Faroese division is called the ''oyra'', but is equal in value to the Danish coin. Before their discontinuation, the corresponding divisions of the Swe ...
for each essay he wrote for his classmates. When he was about 7–8 years old, he was the
theatre director for Aasen Theater and instructed young actors in little plays he had written himself. At the age of 12, he finished off a book on
fairy tales
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...
, but it was never published. In 1881 he completed the
examen artium (the
entrance examination
An entrance examination is an examination that educational institutions conduct to select prospective students for admission. It may be held at any stage of education, from primary to tertiary, even though it is typically held at tertiary stage. ...
required for acceptance to university level studies) in one year, and after further studies at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
he earned the title of Cand. Philos.
Muus was married to Olga Erikka Jørgine, with whom he had ten children. His wife a musician and had performed at
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 ...
Theater. Their home became a meeting place for artists and musicians. Muus enjoyed outdoor life, and particularly picked up an interest in fishing and picking mushrooms.
Literary work
Muus wrote about 50 novels, many of them very long. Many of these were
crime fiction
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
characterized by
chase scene
A car chase or vehicle pursuit is the vehicular overland chase of one party by another, involving at least one automobile or other wheeled motor vehicle in pursuit, commonly hot pursuit of suspects by law enforcement. The rise of the automotive i ...
s and some light romance. In many of his stories, the plot took place 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 ...
(the former name of
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 ...
). Many of Muus’ stories were descriptions of city environments long gone from the present city of
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 ...
. In addition he also translated several
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
novels.
Muus’ first published work was printed in
Morgenbladet in 1881, under the title ''En myr''. According to Muus this was a “poetic-political idyll”, where he compares certain political conditions with
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
swamps. His first fictional work that was publicly well-known was the comedy ''Ole Høiland'', which was written in 1883 and performed the same year at Møllergatens Theater. The following year he wrote the story ''Smedens datter'', which was published under the name “R.M”. Later came ''Kongemordet i Bergen'' and ''Svenskene på Norderhov'', under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Rollo. In 1885 he started writing Kristiania novels, the first one being ''Gardistens kjæreste''.
In addition to Kristiania novels Muus later on wrote
crime fiction
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
and stories about rural districts. Muus was interested in
Norwegian history, and studied the topic throughout his life. On his 25th anniversary as a writer, he stated that the historical stories ''Ravn den fredløse'' and ''Olaf Trygvessøn'' were his favourites in his writing career up till that point. Muus also wrote
cookbooks and a
sex education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
book under the name “Professor J. Souris”. Throughout his career he wrote under some 40 different names, including Sigmund Tofte, Bjørn Farmann, Gaston Ring, Rolf Ragnvaldsøn, Herman Brage, Spectator, Diogenes, Maximos and Rollo. The
pseudonyms
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
was used for different reasons. At one point he wrote for two competing publishers, and to prevent the publishers from finding out, he used the name Wilhelm at one publisher and Julius at the other.
In his books, Muus often let the
underclass
The underclass is the segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a class hierarchy, below the core body of the working class.
The general idea that a class system includes a population ''under'' the working class has ...
represent the villains, while the financially strong
upper class represented the heroes. Several of his comedies were performed in Arbeidersamfunnet (a labor community), where he often visited as a guest. A few times he stepped in as an actor when the original cast could not perform.
A normal fee for writers of fiction at the time was about 10-15
Norwegian kroner per 16 page piece, regardless of the size of
circulation. Handing in scripts at a steady pace therefore became a necessity in order to keep food on the table. The majority of the profits from Muus’ books and booklets fell into the hands of the publishing companies. One publisher made 50-60 thousand
Norwegian kroner in one year on Muus’ books alone. Converted into today’s currency value, this number can be multiplied by one hundred.
The total production of Muus’ books is difficult to estimate. Due to his fascination with disguises and fake names, Muus operated with many
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
s. An estimate is complicated by the many obscure publishing companies that released his books. His works sold millions of copied, and at his time he was more read than
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
. Several of his books were also sold as translated pirated editions abroad.
Miscellaneous
Though it was not mentioned in the opening credits, the movie ''
Trysil-Knut'' was based on Muus’ book about the skilled
cross-country skier
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muus, Rudolf
1862 births
1935 deaths
People from Akershus
Norwegian male writers