author
Karl Gjellerup
1857–1919
A Danish novelist and poet who shared the 1917 Nobel Prize in Literature, he moved from theology into fiction shaped by big spiritual and philosophical questions. His work ranges from modern Scandinavian concerns to later writing influenced by German culture and Buddhism.
3 Audiobooks
Der Pilger Kamanita: Ein Legendenroman
by Karl Gjellerup
Minna
by Karl Gjellerup
Germanernes Lærling
by Karl Gjellerup
About the author
Born in Roholte, Denmark, in 1857, Karl Adolph Gjellerup studied theology before turning fully to literature. He became known as a poet and novelist connected with the Modern Breakthrough in Scandinavian writing, though his career took him in several directions beyond that early movement.
Gjellerup spent much of his later life in Germany, and that shift left a strong mark on his writing. His books often explore belief, doubt, ethics, and the search for meaning, giving even his fiction a reflective, idea-driven quality.
He shared the 1917 Nobel Prize in Literature with fellow Danish writer Henrik Pontoppidan and died in 1919 near Dresden. Today he is remembered as a writer whose career joined Danish literary roots with a wider European and philosophical outlook.