Alexander Lange Kielland (; 18 February 1849 – 6 April 1906) was a Norwegian realistic writer of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called " The Four Greats" of Norwegian literature, along with

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

and Jonas Lie.

Background

Born in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

, Norway, he grew up in a rich merchant family. He was the son of consul Jens Zetlitz Kielland and great-grandson of Gabriel Schanche Kielland (1760–1821). Kielland was the younger brother of Norwegian landscape painter Kitty Lange Kielland. His family also included his son, Jens Zetlitz Kielland, (1873–1926); uncle Jacob Otto Lange (1833–1902), cousin Axel Christian Zetlitz Kielland (1853–1924), nephew Jens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland (1866–1926), cousin Anders Lange (1904–1974) and great nephew Jacob Christie Kielland (1897–1972). His great niece Axeliane Christiane Zetlitz Kielland (1916–1995) married Agnar Mykle (1915–1994).

Career

Despite being born wealthy, he had a sincere affection for the less fortunate, treating his workers well when he was a factory owner. He remained a spokesman for the weak and a critic of society throughout his time as a writer. His best known plays were the satirical comedies ''Tre Par'' (1886) and ''Professoren'' (1888). He was also well known for his short stories. Among his most famous works are the novels ''

Gift A gift or present is an item given to someone (who is not already the owner) without the expectation of payment or anything in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is intended to be free. In many cou ...

'' (1883), ''Skipper Worse'' (1882) and ''Garman & Worse'' (1880). ''Gift'' (published in English as ''Poison '') is the first of a trilogy including ''Fortuna'' (1884) and ''St. Hans Fest'' (1887). In this trilogy, Kielland satirizes the hypocrisy of Norway's clergy. In ''Gift'', Kielland debates the preference for

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

that Norwegian teachers had during his time. The story features a young boy called Marius, lying on his deathbed while repeating Latin grammar. From 1889 to 1890, Kielland worked as a journalist for the newspaper '' Stavanger Avis''. Kielland virtually stopped writing fiction in 1891 and published only stories which had been published earlier. In 1891 he was designated the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Stavanger Municipality (his hometown), until 1902 when he relocated to

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

as county governor of

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

county. It has been debated why Kielland ended his career as a writer so early. Some believe that he was so much of a realist that he could not deal with the neo-romantic tendencies of Norwegian literature at the end of the 19th century. A more probable reason is that he chose to focus on his political career. The biography of Alexander L. Kielland by Tor Obrestad includes thoughts about Kielland dying from obesity. Already from the mid-1880s, Kielland had suffered from shortness of breath. He had several heart attacks, constantly gained weight, and couldn't control his great passion for food.

Publications

Short stories

* ''Novelletter'', 1879 * ''Nye novelletter'', 1880 * ''To Novelletter fra Danmark'', 1882 * ''A Dinner'', 1896 (as a part of ''Norse Tales and Sketches'')

Novels

* ''Garman & Worse'', 1880 * ''Arbeidsfolk'', 1881 * ''Else'', 1881 * ''Skipper Worse'', 1882. * ''Gift'', 1883 * ''Fortuna'', 1884 * ''Sne'', 1886 * ''Sankt Hans Fest'', 1887 * ''Jacob'', 1891

Plays

* ''Paa Hjemvejen'', 1878 * ''Hans Majestæts Foged'', 1880 * ''Det hele er Ingenting'', 1880 * ''Tre par'', 1886 * ''Bettys Formynder'', 1887 * ''Professoren'', 1888

Essays

* ''Forsvarssagen'', 1890 * ''Menneker og Dyr'', 1891 * ''Omkring Napoleon'', 1905English translation 1907: ''Napoleon's Men and Methods''

References

External links

Digitized books and manuscripts by Kielland
in the National Library of Norway * * *
An English audiobook of story by Alexander Kielland from historyradio.org on youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kielland, Alexander 1849 births 1906 deaths 19th-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian male short story writers Norwegian essayists Norwegian newspaper editors County governors of Norway Writers from Stavanger 19th-century Norwegian people The Four Greats 19th-century Norwegian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Norwegian short story writers 19th-century essayists Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people Norwegian male dramatists and playwrights