Anton Hansen (18 (O.S.)/30 January 1878 – 1 March 1940), better known by his

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 ...

A. H. Tammsaare and its variants, was an Estonian writer whose pentalogy '' Truth and Justice'' (''Tõde ja õigus''; 1926–1933) is considered one of the major works of

Estonian literature Estonian literature ( et, eesti kirjandus) is literature written in the Estonian language (c. 1,100,000 speakers) The domination of Estonia after the Northern Crusades, from the 13th century to 1918 by Germany, Sweden, and Russia resulted in few ...

and "The Estonian Novel".A. H. Tammsaare. L. Siimisker, A. Palm. Eesti Raamat. Tallinn 1978. Pg. 64

Biography

Tammsaare was born in Järvamaa, in the municipality of Albu, village of Vetepere,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. The son of a farmer, he came from a poor background but managed to collect enough money for his education. His family was quite enlightened for the time, with his father ordering newspapers, which was something most Estonian farmers didn't do. He studied in

Väike-Maarja Väike-Maarja is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Lääne-Viru County, Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Väike-Maarja Parish. Väike-Maarja Church was initially built as a fortress church. Climate Notable people * Aile Assz ...

and Tartu at the

Hugo Treffner Gymnasium Hugo Treffner Gymnasium ( et, Hugo Treffneri Gümnaasium; abbreviated as HTG) is a secondary school in Tartu, Estonia with special emphasis on science education. Founded by Hugo Treffner, it was the only large secondary school in 19th-century Est ...

, and afterward at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

where he studied law. Tammsaare's studies were interrupted by

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

in 1911. He spent over a year in a sanatorium in Sochi – where his memorial house is open to the public – and the following six years in his brother's farm in Koitjärve, Estonia (now part of

Põhja-Kõrvemaa Nature Reserve Põhja-Kõrvemaa Nature Reserve ( et, Põhja-Kõrvemaa looduskaitseala) is a protected area in Harju County, Northern Estonia, some 50 km east of Tallinn. With an area of 130.9 km2, it is the third largest nature reserve in Estonia. Do ...

), reading works of

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

. His younger sister, Maria Hansen, was the mother of Tammsaare's nephew, actor Arno Suurorg. In 1918, when Estonia became independent, Tammsaare moved to

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

. It was here that Tammsaare wrote prose works based on the history and lives of the Estonian people that gained him a prominent place in Estonian literature. Tammsaare was interested in philosophy and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

. His novels reflect the ideas of

Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

, Jung and Freud . He was, however, skeptical about cosmopolitanism. "European culture" he wrote, "is something to be overcome if one wishes to see the triumph of love, justice, and humanity spoken of so glibly". Like

Carl Robert Jakobson Carl Robert Jakobson ( – ) was an Estonian writer, politician and teacher active in the Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire. He was one of the most important persons of the Estonian national awakening in the second half of the 19th centur ...

and

Jaan Tõnisson Jaan Tõnisson (; , – 1941?) was an Estonian statesman, serving as the Prime Minister of Estonia twice during 1919 to 1920, as State Elder (head of state and government) from 1927 to 1928 and in 1933, and as Foreign Minister of Estonia from ...

's ''Tartu Renaissance'' group, he believed that Estonian culture was best served by farmers and intellectuals from rural backgrounds. His work was influenced at various stages by Oscar Wilde,

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, Point of view ...

and

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism ...

, but, above all, the Russian realists. "In the whole of world literature," said Tammsaare, I have never read anything to compare to the Russians... there is no one to compare to

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, Dostoevsky or

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

"... Dostoevsky "really disturbed me: I lived in a waking dream under his influence. I was especially gripped by ''Crime and Punishment''.

Bibliography

Tammsaare's early works are characterized by rural "poetic"

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

. Some of his stories also reflect the atmosphere of the revolutionary year of 1905. During what is sometimes classified as his second period, from 1908 to 1919, he wrote several short urban novels and collections of miniatures. In "Poiss ja liblikas" (1915, ''The Boy and the Butterfly''), Tammsaare shows the influence of Oscar Wilde. Internationally best known is his last novel, '' Devil with a False Passport'' ("Põrgupõhja uus Vanapagan"). ''Truth and Justice'' comprises five volumes, which have no individual titles (some were added in translation). Since vol. 3 contains a description about the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

, which is not informed by ideology but by an

existential Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

attention to individual suffering, it was often combined with vol. 2 by Soviet censorship. Even today, the third volume is sometimes called "artistically inferior", although the description of the revolution is on par with similar scenes in Pasternak's ''

Doctor Zhivago ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations. Description The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago Yuri Andreievich Zhivago is the ...

''. In Estonia, the second volume, with its Tartu educational scenes, is today probably the most enjoyed. International critics would probably opt for vol. 1 as the strongest overall; it is a classical peasant novel reminiscent of Hamsun which is also generally held to be the most telling one about "the Estonian character", embodied especially in two antagonistic farmer figures Andres and Pearu. Tammsaare himself said later that the different volumes deal with the relation of Man (i.e., the human person) to (1) the land, (2)

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, (3)

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and society, (4) him- or herself and (5) resignation. ''Truth and Justice'' was not translated into English until 2014, whe
Haute Culture Books
published the first volume of the saga under the name

. There are two complete translations into German and one each into French, Latvian, and Czech. Volume 1 has also been translated into Finnish, Polish, and Hungarian (with the title, ''Orcád verítékével'').

Selected works

* ''Kaks paari ja üksainus'', 1902 - Two Pairs and the One * ''Vanad ja noored'', 1903 - Olds and Youngs * ''Raha-auk'', 1907 - The Money-Hole * ''Uurimisel'', 1907 - Be in Prospect * ''Pikad sammud'', 1908 - Long Steps * ''Üle piiri'', 1910 - Over the Border * ''Noored hinged'', 1909 - Young Spirits * ''Poiss ja liblikas'', 1915 - The Boy and the Butterfly * ''Keelest ja luulest'', 1915 - About Language and Poetry * ''Kärbes'', 1917 - The Fly * ''Varjundid'', 1917 - The Shapes of the Shadows * ''Sõjamõtted'', 1919 - Thoughts of War * ''Juudit'', 1921 - Judith * '' Kõrboja peremees'', 1922 - The Master of the Kõrboja * ''Pöialpoiss'', 1923 - The Midget * ''Sic Transit'', 1924 * '' Tõde ja õigus I-V'', 1926-33 - Truth and Justice, Vol.1-5 * ''Meie rebane'', 1932 - Our Fox * ''Elu ja armastus'', 1934 - The Life and the Love * ''Ma armastasin sakslast'', 1935 - I Loved a German * ''Kuningal on külm'', 1936 - The King Is Cold * ''Hiina ja hiinlane'', 1938 - China and a Chinese * ''Põrgupõhja uus Vanapagan'', 1939 - The Misadventures of the New Satan (or: Devil with a False Passport or: The New Devil of Hellsbottom (the latter being a literal translation from Estonian)) * ''Miniatures'', 1977 * ''Kogutud teosed'', 1977-1993 (18 vols.) - Collected Works

References

External links

Who is A.H.Tammsaare?

Tammsaare Museum in Kadriorg

- shows the 25- Kroon banknote, with its depiction of Tammsaare and his farm {{DEFAULTSORT:Tammsaare, A. H. 1878 births 1940 deaths People from Järva Parish People from the Governorate of Estonia Estonian male novelists 20th-century Estonian novelists 20th-century male writers Hugo Treffner Gymnasium alumni University of Tartu alumni Burials at Metsakalmistu

Biography

Bibliography

Selected works

See also

References

External links