Bernt Lie

Born in Mandal on July 13, 1868, Bernt Bessesen Lie was a Norwegian novelist and short-story writer who published steadily from the early 1890s until shortly before his death in 1916. He studied law and took his degree in 1891, but he became known above all as a man of letters.

Lie wrote a long list of popular novels and tales, and contemporary reference works note that he was one of the more widely read Norwegian authors of his time. Today he is especially remembered for his boys' books set in Tromsø, including Sorte Ørn, Svend Bidevind, Peter Napoleon, and Guttedage, which are often praised for their vivid scenes of mischief, friendship, and school life.

He was part of a literary family as the nephew of novelist Jonas Lie. Bernt Lie died in Sandefjord on July 14, 1916, one day after his 48th birthday, but his stories of youth and everyday adventure have remained the clearest path into his work.