Niels Lyhne

Jacobsen, J. P. (Jens Peter), 1847-1885Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.3

Word count: 391K words
Chapters: 40

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Niels Lyhne by J. P. JacobsenAuthor: Jacobsen, J. P. (Jens Peter), 1847-1885,Language: English, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Aug 19, 2017

Editor's review

Niels Lyhne is a novel by the Danish writer Jens Peter Jacobsen, available in English translation from Project Gutenberg. In Nordic literature it is often regarded as a representative of late-nineteenth-century psychological realism and aesthetic style; its narrative focus is not on plot progression but on the protagonist's inner feelings, artistic temperament, and the slow rise and fall of belief. The prose is delicate and the imagery carefully wrought, and it influenced later Nordic writers. The pleasure of reading lies in language and introspection rather than dramatic turns; the pace is slow, the characters often caught in self-scrutiny, and readers expecting a strong story may feel detached. It suits readers interested in the Nordic literary lineage and in themes of faith and art in the nineteenth-century European novel, and can serve as a text for studying psychological description and aesthetic style. The English translation makes it accessible for comparison with the original style, but the feel of the translation affects the experience; a complete edition read slowly is recommended.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Nordic literature and the nineteenth-century European novel
Literature lovers who enjoy psychological description and aesthetic style
Students of literature studying the transition from realism to modernism
English-language readers willing to read an introspective novel slowly

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plots and fast-paced stories
Readers impatient with the slow narration of nineteenth-century fiction
General readers who need a Chinese translation and prefer not to read English

Reading tips

Read a chapter or two first to feel the rhythm of the language before deciding to read it through.
Make a brief outline of the protagonist's changes in art and belief to help grasp the structure.
Slow down at long passages of introspection, attending to imagery and tone rather than events.
Read alongside a background in Nordic literary history to understand its stylistic position.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is the plot strong? Is it suitable for fast reading?

No. It emphasizes psychological description and introspection, with few dramatic turns and a slow pace; fast reading loses the layers of language and emotion. Slow down and follow the character's inner changes chapter by chapter.

What is the reading experience of the English translation like?

According to the listing, this is an English translation, accessible to non-Danish readers. But the feel of the translation affects how the aesthetic style comes across; choose a complete edition and attend to the rhythm of the language rather than chasing the plot.

Can I read it without a background in Nordic literature?

You can, but understanding its stylistic position will be diminished. It helps to first learn the general direction of late-nineteenth-century Nordic fiction, then enter the text, to better appreciate its psychological description.

What themes make this book suitable for research?

It suits readers concerned with themes such as the erosion of faith, artistic temperament, and self-scrutiny in the nineteenth-century European novel, and can serve as a reference text for studying style during the transition from realism to modernism.

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Jacobsen, J. P. (Jens Peter), 1847-1885 Author

J. P. Jacobsen (Jens Peter Jacobsen, 1847–1885) was a Danish writer; publicly available information about his life is limited in the Chinese-speaking world. Four of his works are held in this database, including the novels Niels Lyhne and Fru Marie Grubbe, and the story collection Mogens, and Other Stories; Marie Grubbe also circulates in English as Marie Grubbe, a Lady of the Seventeenth Century. His fiction often draws on history and personal destiny, with delicate prose that attends closely to psychology and atmosphere, presenting the interplay of passion and disillusionment through calm, restrained narration. This approach helped inspire psychological realism in later Nordic and European literature and secured him a place in Danish literary history.