Danish Classics

by Karen Blixen, Henrik Pontoppidan, Herman Bang

This box is filled with short stories by some of Denmark’s most beloved authors – a quartet of classic Danish literature!

Karen Blixen – The Pearls
Henrik Pontoppidan – The Grim Reaper
Herman Bang – Irene Holm
H.C. Andersen – Little Claus and Big Claus

Genres: Classics

102 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

About the author

Karen Christentze Dinesen, Baroness Blixen-Finecke - wrote as Isak Dinesen, Pierre Andrézel, other pseudonyms: Tania Blixen, Osceola, etc.
A Danish writer, who mixed in her work supernatural elements, aestheticism, and erotic undertones with an aristocratic view of life, Blixen always emphasized that she was a storyteller in the traditional, oral sense of the word. She drew her inspiration from the Bible, the Arabian Nights, the works of Homer, the Icelandic Sagas, and the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen, who was her great fellow countryman. She wrote in English and in Danish.

Baroness Karen Blixen was born in Rungsted, Denmark, into a well-to-do patrician family. She was the daughter of Ingeborg Westenholz Dinesen, and the writer and army officer Wilhelm Dinesen, whose adventuresome spirit and storytelling talents influenced deeply Blixen's imagination. She spent her childhood on the family estate in Rungsted. Throughout her life Blixen's outlook and manner were unabashedly aristocratic.

Reviews

[Hannah Smets · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked Karen Blixen’s and Henrik Pontippidan’s short stories, not so much a fan of Herman Bang’s and H.C. Andersen’s.

[Hibah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars | A collection of short stories from Danish authors I picked up while in Copenhagen. “The Grim Reaper” by Herman Bang made me cry and it was only 25 pages so 5 ⭐️s for that one.

[R.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Pearls by Karen Blixen

A decent little story. Weird way of thinking of the protagonist, but nice description of her inner thoughts and inner life.

I found and read only this story.

Μικροσκοπικό βιβλιαράκι, μόνο αυτό έχω από τα τέσσερα.
Μία αξιοπρεπής ιστορία με μία πρωταγωνίστρια που κάνει μάλλον περίεργες σκέψεις- τουλάχιστον στα δικά μου μάτια΄. Ωστόσο ωραίο ψυχογράφημα και διαβάζεται εύκολα.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Now she began to think of what she had read about deep-water fish, which have been so much used to beat the weight of many thousand fathoms of water, that if they are raised to the surface, they will burst. Was she herself, she wondered, such a deep-water fish, that felt at home only under the pressure of existence?"

From The Pearls, from Karen Blixen. My fav story out of the compilation.

[Lucy Mitnick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rlly happy I picked these up @ the royal danish library , I love a good short ! Order of favs: Irene Holm, Little Claus & Big Claus, The Grim Reaper, The Pearls

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful little taste of Danish literature. I enjoyed revisiting Denmark after our trip there in September!