Henrik Pontoppidan

Henrik Pontoppidan
Pontoppidan c. 1913
Pontoppidan c. 1913
Born(1857-07-24)24 July 1857
Fredericia, Denmark
Died21 August 1943(1943-08-21) (aged 86)
Charlottenlund, Denmark
NationalityDanish
GenreRealist writer
Notable awardsNobel Prize in Literature
1917 shared with Karl Gjellerup
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Henrik Pontoppidan (Danish: [ˈhenˀʁek pʰʌnˈtsʰʌpitæn]; 24 July 1857 – 21 August 1943)[1] was a Danish realist writer who shared with Karl Gjellerup the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1917 for "his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark." Pontoppidan's novels and short stories — informed with a desire for social progress but despairing, later in his life, of its realization — present an unusually comprehensive picture of his country and his epoch. As a writer he was an interesting figure, distancing himself both from the conservative environment in which he was brought up and from his socialist contemporaries and friends. He was the youngest and in many ways the most original and influential member of the Modern Break-Through.

  1. ^ Bernard S. Schlessinger; June H. Schlessinger (1991). The Who's Who of Nobel Prize Winners, 1901-1990. Oryx Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-89774-599-4.