Kristian Mandrup Elster

Kristian Elster was a Norwegian writer and forester who made his literary debut with the historical drama Eystein Meyla in 1863. He was influenced by Bjørnson, Grundtvig and the idea of enlightening the people. He worked as a literature and drama critic in Christiania (now Oslo) until 1873, when he became a forester's assistant in Trondheim. He was involved in the afforestation of Bymarka, a pioneer project that opened the forest for recreational use by the city's inhabitants. He continued to write novels, plays and short stories, often with social criticism. His most popular novels were Tora Trondal (1879) and Farlige Folk (1881), which was published posthumously. He died of pneumonia at the age of 40, leaving behind his wife and a son, who also became a writer and literary critic.