Kielland, Alexander Lange

Kielland, Alexander Lange (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.

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Kielland, Alexander Lange 

Born Feb. 18, 1849, in Stavanger; died Apr. 6, 1906, in Bergen. Norwegian writer.

Kielland received a law degree in Oslo in 1871. He was the author of short stories, which he called noveletter; the pair of novels Carman and Worse (1880; Russian translation, 1893) and Skipper Worse (1882; Russian translation, 1883) about the bourgeois Garman family; the trilogy Poison (1883; Russian translation, 1883), Fortuna (1884; Russian translation, 1885), and Midsummer Festival (1887); and the educational novel Jacob (1891; Russian translation, 1898), which has satirical features. Kielland’s realistic works are characterized by a marked social purpose and a dynamic style.

WORKS

Samlede verker, vols. 1–12. Copenhagen, 1949–50.
In Russian translation:
Izbr. proizv. Moscow, 1958.

REFERENCES

Grieg, N. “Kielland på ny.” Vien frem, 1936, no. 9.
Bull, F. Omkring Al. L. Kielland. Oslo, 1949.
Storsttein, O. Kielland på ny. Oslo, 1949.
Båehrendtz, N. E. A. Kielland’s litteräre genombrott. Stockholm, 1952.