Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/325

Rh the reader easily forgets the technical shortcomings. Instead of describing the sailor's life as in the most of his former works, he has, in "Thomas Ross," confined himself to city life, and from a technical standpoint of view, this story makes a decided progress. On the contrary, his lyric, dramatic composition, "Faustina Strozzi," with its scene laid in Italy, must be regarded as less successful. In his chief works, Lie not unfrequently reminds us of Björnson's style. The same applies to (born 1819), who, though born in Denmark, limits herself in her tales almost exclusively to descriptions from nature and popular life in Norway. Of her works, which betray a certain mannerism, but still contain no small amount of poetic beauty, the most prominent are: "Signes Historie," "Solen i Siljedalen," and "Billeder fra Vestkysten."

, whose tales (especially "Jeg Lever") reveal a rare talent for character-painting and graphic descriptions, is a marked exception from the general tendency in Norwegian literature, which is especially fond of dealing with the national popular life, while this lady endeavors to bring the national literature into harmony with foreign, particularly French elements.

The rich poetic life which has unfolded itself with increasing vigor in Norway during the last decades is still in full bloom. New talents are continually being added which justify the highest expectations, and there is a luxuriance in the art of poetry to which a parallel can scarcely be found