Pontoppidan, Henrik
PONTOPPIDAN, HENRIK (1857- ), Danish author, son of a pastor, was born at Fredericia on the 24th of July 1857. He studied physics and mathematics at the university of Copenhagen, and when he was eighteen he travelled on foot through Germany and Switzerland. His novels show an intimate acquaintance with peasant life and character, the earlier ones showing clear evidence of the influence of Kjelland. An excellent example of his work is in the trilogy dealing with the history of Emanuel Hansted, a theorizing radical parson who marries a peasant wife. These three stories, Muid (" Soil." 1891), Del Forjaeltede Land (" The Promised Land," 1892), and Dommens Dag (1895) are marked by fine discrimination and great narrative power. Among his other works are Fra Hylterne [i&&l),Folkelivsskildringer (2 partsi 1888-1800), and Skyer (1890). He began in 1898 a new series in Lykke Per. the story of a typical [utlander.
See an article of Niels Moller in Dansk Biografisk Lexikon (vol. xiii., 1899).
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
