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In a review which appeared in the Athenaeum, of a translation of one of Jonas Lie's earlier works--Den Fremsynte- (-The Visionary-)-the reviewer expressed a hope that I would follow up that translation with -an English version of Lie's 'Livsslaven, ' that intensely tragic and pathetic story of suffering and wrong.- It is in accordance with this suggestion that the present volume makes its appearance. In taking Christiania life for the subject of -Livsslaven,- Jonas Lie attempted for the second time to break down the preconceived opinion of critics, that such a subject did not come within his province.
Jonas Lie is sufficiently famous to need but a very few words of introduction. Ever since 1870, when he made his reputation by his first novel, "Den Fremsynte," he has been a prime favourite with the Scandinavian public, and of late years his principal romances have gone the round of Europe. He has written novels of all kinds, but he excels when he describes the wild seas of Northern Norway, and the stern and hardy race of sail-ors and fishers who seek their fortunes, and so often find their graves, on those dangerous waters. Such tales, for instance, as "Tremasteren Fremtid," "Lodsen og hans Hustru," "Gaa Paa!" and "Den Fremsynte" are unique of their kind, and give far truer pictures of Norwegian life and character in the rough than anything that can be found elsewhere in the literature. Indeed, Lie's skippers and mates are as superior to Kjelland's, for instance, as the peasants of Jens Tvedt (a writer, by the way, still unknown beyond his native land) are superior to the much-vaunted peasants of Bjornstjerne Bjornson. But it is when Lie tells us some of the wild legends of his native province, Nordland, some of the grim tales on which he himself was brought up, so to speak, that he is perhaps most vivid and enthralling. The folk-lore of those lonely sub-arctic tracts is in keeping with the savagery of nature. We rarely, if ever, hear of friendly elves or companionable gnomes there. The supernatural beings that haunt those shores and seas are, for the most part, malignant and malefic. They seem to hate man. They love to mock his toils, and sport with his despair. In his very first romance, "Den Fremsynte," Lie relates two of these weird tales (Nos. 1 and 3 of the present selection). Another tale, in which many of the superstitious beliefs and wild imaginings of the Nordland fishermen are skilfully grouped together to form the background of a charming love-story, entitled "Finn Blood," I have borrowed from the volume of "Fortaellinger og Skildringer," published in 1872. The re-maining eight stories are selected from the book "Trold," which was the event of the Christmas publishing season at Christiania in 1891. Last Christmas a second series of "Trold" came out, but it is distinctly inferior to the former one. TALES: THE FISHERMAN AND THE DRAUG JACK OF SJOHOLM AND THE GAN-FINN TUG OF WAR. "THE EARTH DRAWS" THE CORMORANTS OF ANDVAER ISAAC AND THE PARSON OF BRONO THE WIND-GNOME THE HULDREFISH FINN BLOOD THE HOMESTEAD WESTWARD IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS "IT'S ME.
One of Life's Slaves was penned in 1872 by the Norwegian author Jonas Lie. This edition was translated from Norwegian to English by Jessie Muir in 1895. In taking Christiania life for the subject of "Livsslaven," Jonas Lie attempted for the second time to break down the preconceived opinion of critics, that such a subject did not come within his province. They were accustomed to have tales of sea-life from his pen, and could not readily be persuaded that another sphere of life might afford equal scope for his talent. Lie himself, in speaking of this work, says that a writer should "aim at presenting his subject in such a way that the reader may see, hear, feel, and comprehend it with the utmost possible intensity." This precept he has certainly put into practice in the present instance, for the subject is treated with such power and so full a grasp, that in reading the book one feels an actual anxiety, an oppression as of approaching disaster.
This book has the folk legends of people living along and on the islands of the northern coast of Norway. Original copies of line art from the first edition illustrate the book and cover. It was first published in the 1900s.
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