Excerpt from Essays on Scandinavian Literature Some twenty years ago the ambition seized me to write a History of Scandinavian Literature. I scarcely realized then what an enormous amount of reading would be required to equip me for this task. My studies naturally led me much beyond the s00pe of my original intention. There was a fascination in the work which lured me perpetually on, and made me explore with a constantly increas ing zest the great literary personalities of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Thus my chapter on Hen rik Ibsen grew into a book of three hundred and seventeen pages, which was published a year ago, and must be regarded as supplementary to the present volume. The chapter on Bjornstjerne Bjornson was in danger of expanding to similar proportions, and only the most heroic condensation saved it from challenging criticism as an inde pendent work. As regards Norway and Denmark, I have endeavored to select all the weightiest and most representative names. The Swedish authors Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Mrs. Edgren, and Au gust Strindberg, and the Dane Oehlenschlaeger. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.