Torolf Elster (27 May 1911 – 4 November 2006) was a Norwegian newspaper and radio journalist, magazine editor,

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 aspire to ...

crime fiction writer 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 writer of short stories. He was

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

of the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

(NRK) from 1972 to 1981.

Background

Elster 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 ...

. His parents were author and literary critic Kristian Elster, Jr. (1881–1947) and Ragnhild Poulsen (1885–1958). He was married to poet and

psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...

Magli Elster Magli Elster (née Raknes; 21 November 1912 – 11 May 1993) was a Norwegian psychoanalyst, literary critic, poet and translator. Personal life Elster was born in the neighborhood of Vålerenga in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. She was the d ...

(née Raknes, daughter of psychologist Ola Raknes and poet and playwright

Aslaug Vaa Aslaug Vaa (25 August 1889 – 28 November 1965) was a Norwegian poet and playwright. Her works contain elements from local tradition and landscape mixed with international influence. Personal life Aslaug Vaa was born on Nystog in Rauland, ...

). He was the father of philosopher

Jon Elster Jon Elster (; born 22 February 1940, Oslo) is a Norwegian philosopher and political theorist who holds the Robert K. Merton professorship of Social Science at Columbia University. He received his PhD in social science from the École Normale Supe ...

Journalist and literary career

Elster made his literary debut in 1936 with the novel ''Muren''. He was sales manager at the

publishing company Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

Tiden Norsk Forlag in the late 1930s. He was a member of the communist movement

Mot Dag Mot Dag (, 'Towards Day') was a Norwegian political group. The group was active from the 1920s to the early 1930s and was first affiliated with the Labour Party. After World War II, many of its former members were leaders in Norwegian politics and ...

before the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

1940–1945, during which he had to flee the country. The novel ''Historien om Gottlob'' was issued in 1941. In

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

he edited the underground newspaper ''

Håndslag ''Håndslag'' was a Norwegian bi-weekly political magazine issued in Stockholm from June 1942 to June 1945. It was issued by Eyvind Johnson, and edited by Torolf Elster. Among the journalists were Willy Brandt and Helge Krog. The magazine was sec ...

'', together with

Eyvind Johnson Eyvind Johnson (29 July 1900 – 25 August 1976) was a Swedish novelist and short story writer. Regarded as the most groundbreaking novelist in modern Swedish literature he became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1957 and shared the 1974 Nob ...

and

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...

. ''Håndslag'' was smuggled into Norway and distributed illegally. Funded by the

Norwegian legation in Stockholm The Norwegian Legation in Stockholm played a significant role during the Second World War. Until 9 April 1940 the legation consisted of four persons, and at the end of the war about 1,100 persons were connected to the legation. Refugee cases wer ...

, it was issued once every second week, and was printed in 15–20,000 copies towards the end of the war. Elster was also a commentator in '' Norsk Tidend''. Elster was a foreign editor for ''

Arbeiderbladet ''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...

'' from 1945 to 1946, and editor of the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

's magazine ''

Kontakt Kontakt may refer to: * ''Kontakt'' (film), a 2005 Macedonian film directed by Sergej Stanojkovski * ''Kontakt'' (magazine), a Norwegian political magazine (1947–1954) * Kontakt (software), a music sampler See also * Contact (disambiguation) * ...

'' from 1947 to 1954. He then wrote for ''Arbeiderbladet'' for almost ten years, from 1954 to 1963. During this time he also wrote several non-fiction books, mainly political literature: ''Frihet og demokrati'' (Freedom and Democracy, 1947), ''Øst og Vest'' (East and West, 1948), ''Sosialismen under debatt'' (Socialism Under Debate, 1950) and ''Sovjetmysteriet'' (The Soviet Mystery, 1957). He started working as a program manager for the

in 1963, and was

from 1972 to 1981. Elster was awarded the

Riverton Prize The Riverton Prize ( no, Rivertonprisen) is a literature award given annually to the best Norwegian crime story (novel, short story, play, original screenplay). The prize is named after the Norwegian journalist and author Sven Elvestad Sven Elv ...

for the

crime novel 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, ...

''Thomas Pihls annen lov'' (1982). In 1986 he and Magli Elster were awarded the

Fritt Ord Award Fritt Ord Award consists of two prizes awarded by the Fritt Ord Foundation (''Stiftelsen Fritt Ord''). Two prizes are awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award ( no, Fritt Ords pris) and the Fritt O ...

. He died in 2006 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elster, Torolf 1911 births 2006 deaths Norwegian crime fiction writers Norwegian magazine editors NRK people Norwegian television executives Norwegian resistance members Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Norwegian political writers Mot Dag 20th-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian journalists