Dictionary.net

A Norwegian novelist (1814-84). Left a widow without resources at 36, she went to Paris, where a lady of quality sent to the printer some of the widow's letters to her, entitling the collection "Letters of a Barbarian". Parisian society was captivated, and the author decided to exercise her newly discovered talent by writing stories in her own language. Between 1869 and 1881 she published seven volumes of tales, charming for their fine spiritual insight and their warm human sympathy; they were nearly all translated into German. Among them "Jeg Lever" is perhaps the most noteworthy.