Books
There are relatively few English-language books on Copenhagen - the list below represents a fairly comprehensive selection of what's available. Where titles are published by different publishers in the UK and US, we've given both, separated by an oblique slash; where only one publisher is given, this covers both the UK and US, unless specifically stated. Out-of-print titles are marked "o/p". Hans Christian Andersen , Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales (Oxford UP). Still the most internationally prominent figure of Danish literature, Andersen's fairytales are so widely translated and read that the full clout of their allegorical content is often overlooked: interestingly, his first collection of tales (published in 1835) was condemned for its "violence and questionable morals". A Visit to Germany, Italy and Malta, 1840-1841 (Peter Owen, UK) is the most enduring of his travel works, while his autobiography, The Fairy Tale of My Life (o/p), is a fine alternative to the numerous sycophantic portraits which have appeared since. Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Out of Africa; Letters from Africa; Seven Gothic Tales (Penguin). Out of Africa , the account of Blixen's attempts to run a coffee farm in Kenya after divorce from her husband, is a lyrical and moving tale. But it's in Seven Gothic Tales that Blixen's fiction is at its zenith: a flawlessly executed, weird, emotive work, full of twists in plot and strange, ambiguous characterization. Elias Bredsdorff , Hans Christian Andersen (Souvenir Press, UK). One of the better biographies out of a huge raft of works on the life and times of the great fairy-tale writer. Robert Bretall , A Kierkegaard Anthology (Princeton University Press). An excellent cross-section of Kirkegaard's work, reflecting all the major themes of his proto-existential philosophy. Inga Dahlsgard , Women in Denmark, Yesterday and Today (o/p). A refreshing presentation of Danish history from the point of view of its women. Tove Ditlevsen , Early Spring (Seal Press). An autobiographical novel of growing up in the working-class Vesterbro district of Copenhagen during the 1930s. As an evocation of childhood and early adulthood, it's totally captivating. James Graham-Campbell , The Viking World (Facts on File/Checkmark Books). A wonderfully colourful book full of photographs of excavated Viking sites and artefacts. Also gives a broadly-written account of the history of the seafaring warriors. Peter Høeg , Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (published in the US as Miss Smilla's Sense of Snow; Harvill/Delta). A worldwide bestseller, this compelling thriller deals with Danish colonialism in Greenland and the issue of cultural identity. Johannes V. Jensen , The Fall of the King (o/p). The 1944 Nobel prize winner Johannes V. Jensen's masterpiece vividly depicts an overlooked period of Danish history covering the tumultuous reign of Christian II (1513-1523) and his many years in captivity at Sønderborg Slot, superbly described through the eyes of his servant and friend, Mikkel Thøgersen. W. Glyn Jones , Denmark: A Modern History (o/p). A valuable account of the twentieth-century (up until 1984) history of Denmark. Strong on politics, useful on social history and the arts, but disappointingly brief on grassroots movements. Søren Kierkegaard , Either/Or (Penguin). Kierkegaard's most approachable work, packed with wry and wise musings on love, life and death in nineteenth-century Danish society; includes the (in)famous "Seducer's Diary". Dea Trier Mørch , Winter's Child (Nebraska University Press, US). A wonderfully lucid sketch of modern Denmark as seen through the eyes of several women in the maternity ward of a Copenhagen hospital. See also Evening Star , which deals with the effect of old age and death on a Danish family. Roger Poole and Henrik Stangerup (eds) , A Kierkegaard Reader (Fourth Estate, UK). By far the best and most accessible introduction to this notoriously difficult nineteenth-century Danish philosopher and writer, with a sparkling introductory essay. Judith Thurman , Isak Dinesen: The Life of Karen Blixen (Penguin, UK). The most penetrating biography of Blixen, elucidating details of the Kenyan farm period not found in the two "Africa" books. Rose Tremain , Music and Silence (Vintage). Captivating historical novel that follows the lives of Christian IV, his consort, his English lutenist and their lovers. Life in the many castles around Copenhagen is brilliantly described, and the novel provides a delightful insight into Danish aspirations and superstitions during the period. Jackie Wullschlager , Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller (Penguin/Allen Lane). The most recent biographical study of Hans Christian Andersen, this finely documented and insightful biography examines the misery of Andersen's childhood, his subsequent rapid success and his troubled sexuality, arguing that it was the shock and power of these experiences that fuelled many of his mournful fairytales.
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