Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson was a Norwegian author born in Kvikne as the son of a pastor. When he was five years old, the family settled in Romsdal – the coastal landscape and people there later came to influence his writing deeply. He attended the Heltberg Latin School between 1850 and 1852 where he met, among others, Henrik Ibsen and Jonas Lie. Between 1854 and 1856, he reviewed literature and theatre for Morgenbladet and as of 1856 he edited Illustreret Folkeblad where his first stories were published. Bjørnson took over as head of the Bergen theatre after Ibsen in 1857 and also became editor of Bergensposten. He was director of Christiania Theater 1865 –1867 and 1870–1871. Bjørnson spent long periods abroad, he lived in Paris, for example, between 1882 and 1887. He later died there in 1910.