Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

**Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson** (born 8 December 1832 in Kvikne, Norway - died 26 April 1910 in Paris, France) was a Norwegian playwright, author and poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1903.

His father was a Lutheran minister, but Bjørnson rejected organized religion. He married Karoline Reimers, a famous stage actress, and their son Bjørn also had great success as a stage actor, and appeared in a few early silent films. Their daughter, Bergljot, married Henrik Ibsen's son Sigurd.

He attended grammar school, Heltbergs Studentfabrikk in Oslo, with Henrik Ibsen, but dropped out of a course at the University of Oslo. By his early twenties he was writing literature reviews for the Norwegian newspaper, Morgenbladet. At 25 he wrote his first produced play, _Mellem Slagene_ (Between the Battles). His _Paul Lange og Tora Parsberg_ was a statement for political tolerance, and _På Guds veie_ ("In God's Way") for religious tolerance. He is best known internationally for his tales of peasant life in Norway. His novel, _Synnöve Solbakken_, has been filmed three times. Bjørnson also worked as a stage director, and later served as editor of another paper, Aftenbladet, where he wrote fiery liberal editorials and passionately defended Alfred Dreyfus. His poem, "Yes, We Love This Land", is the Norwegian national anthem.

The cause of his death is unknown.

## Books

- _Synnöve Solbakken_ (1857, novel)
- _En glad Gut_ (A Happy Boy) (1860, novel)
- _Sigurd Slembe_ (Sigurd the Bad) (1862, epic poem)
- _Fiskerjenten_ (The Fisher Maiden) (1868, novel)
- _Digte og sange_ (Poems and Songs) (1870, poems)
- _Arnljot Gelline_ (1870, epic poem)
- _Magnhild_ (1877, novel)
- _The Bridal March, and Other Stories_ (1882, short stories)
- _Captain Mansana, and Other Stories_ (1882, short stories)
- _The Fisher Maiden_ (1882, novel)
- _Railroad and Churchyard_ (1882, novel)
- _Det flager i byen og på havnen_ (The Heritage of the Kurts) (1884, novel)
- _På Guds veje_ (In God's Way) (1889, novel)
- _Geografi og Kærlighed_ (Geography and Love) (1889, novel)
- _Three Comedies_ (1925, collected plays, published posthumously)
- _Three Dramas_ (1925, collected plays, published posthumously)

## Plays

- _Mellem Slagene_ (Between the Battles) (1857)
- _Halte-Hulda_ (Lame Hulda) (1858)
- _Kong Sverre_ (King Sverre) (1861)
- _De Nygifte_ (The Newly Married) (1865)
- _Arne: A Sketch of Norwegian Country Life_ (1866)
- _The Happy Boy: A Tale of Norwegian Peasant Life_ (1870)
- _En fallit_ (A Bankruptcy) (1874)
- _Redaktøren_ (The Editor) (1874)
- _Kongen_ (The King) (1877)
- _Kaptejn Mansana_ (Captain Mansana) (1878)
- _Det nye System_ (The New System) (1879)
- _Leonarda_ (1879)
- _The Wedding-March_ (1882)
- _En Handske_ (A Gauntlet) (1883)
- _Over Ævne_ (Beyond Powers) (1889)
- _Over Ævne II_ (Beyond Powers II) (1895)
- _Laboremus_ (1901)
- _På Storhove_ (At Storhove) (1902)
- _Daglannet_ (Dag's Farm) (1904)

## Infobox (writer)

- **image**: Portrett av Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, 1909 - no-nb digifoto 20150129 00043 bldsa BB0791 - Restoration.jpg
- **caption**: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1909
- **birth name**: Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson
- **birth place**: Kvikne, Union between Sweden and Norway, Norway
- **death place**: Paris, French Third Republic, France
- **occupation**: Poet, novelist, playwright, lyricist
- **nationality**: Norwegians, Norwegian
- **spouse**: Karoline Bjørnson, Karoline Reimers
- **children**: Bjørn Bjørnson, Bergljot Ibsen, Erling Bjørnson
- **relatives**: Peder Bjørnson (father), Elise Nordraak (mother)
- **signature**: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson signature.png