Kielland, Alexander Lange

Related Category: Scandinavian Literature: Biographies

(äləksän´dər läng´ə khĕl´län), 1849–1906, Norwegian novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. Two early volumes of short stories—Tales of Two Countries (1879, tr. 1891) and Norse Tales and Sketches (1897)—placed him among the important realists. His witty and ironic novels, written with the purpose of social reform, include Skipper Worse (1881, tr. 1885) and Poison (1883). In 1885 he was recommended for a state author's stipend, but the majority of Parliament rejected the idea. His writing was greatly influenced by George Brandes.