Alexander Kielland

Alexander Kielland was a prominent Norwegian writer and politician in the 19th century. He was born into a wealthy merchant family in Stavanger, and studied law at the University of Christiania. He worked as a lawyer and a brickyard owner before he turned to literature in 1879. He published several collections of short stories and novels, which were characterized by realism, satire, and social criticism. He was one of the "big four" of Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, and Jonas Lie. He was influenced by the ideas of John Stuart Mill and Georg Brandes, and advocated for liberalism, democracy, and education. He was also a friend and supporter of the painter Edvard Munch. Kielland became involved in politics in 1889, when he worked as a journalist for the newspaper Stavanger Avis. He was elected as the mayor of Stavanger in 1891, and served until 1902. He then moved to Molde, where he was appointed as the county governor of Møre og Romsdal. He died of a heart attack in Bergen in 1906, at the age of 57. He is regarded as one of the greatest prose stylists and social reformers of his time.