Carl Ewald was born on 15 October 1856 in Bredelykke by Gram in the Duchy of Schleswig (present-day Denmark). He was named after and he had twelve siblings. His father, was an author. He was educated at the University of Copenhagen, where his family had moved to after the Duchy of Schleswig fell to the German Confederation in 1864. From 1880 to 1883 he was a school director in Copenhagen. His first literary work was published in 1882. After spending a few years as a forester, he turned to literature in 1887, issuing school texts and translations.