Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen (23 September 1848 – 4 October 1895) was a Norwegian-American author and college professor. He is best remembered for his novel Gunnar: A Tale of Norse Life, which is generally considered to have been the first novel by a Norwegian immigrant in America.[1][2]
Boyesen migrated to the United States during 1869 and initially became assistant editor of Fremad, a Norwegian language weekly published in Chicago. The multi-lingual Boyesen subsequently taught Greek and Latin classes at Urbana University. Boyesen was a professor of North European Languages at Cornell University from 1874 to 1880. Boyesen became a professor of Germanic languages at Columbia University in 1881.[4] His scholarly works included Goethe and Schiller, Essays on German Literature, A Commentary on the Works of Henrik Ibsen and Essays on Scandinavian Literature.[5]
Through his public lectures, Boyesen won a reputation as an excellent lecturer. He was a prolific writer, and, over 20 years, he published 25 books including novels, short stories, poems, and literary criticism. He also published short stories, essays, and book reviews in periodicals. Boyesen is more commonly known for his works of popular fiction. His most successful books have remained those based upon Norwegian culture and habits. He wrote many books of fiction for adults and children and some poetry.[6]
Glasrud, Clarence A. (1963). Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen (Northfield: Norwegian-American Historical Association)
Fredrickson, Robert S. (1980). Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen (Boston: Twayne Publishers)
Seyersted, Per (1984). From Norwegian Romantic to American Realist: Studies in Life and Writings of Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen (Oslo: Solum: Publications of the American Institute, University of Oslo)
Eckstein, Neil Truman (1990). Marginal Man As Novelist: The Norwegian-American Writers H.H Boyesen and O.E. Rolvaag (Taylor & Francis)