“Music and Silence” is a historical novel set in the court of King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway around 1630. An English musician arrives at the Danish court to join the royal orchestra. The atmosphere at the court is frosty, with musicians performing in a cellar and the relationship between the king and queen at a low ebb. However, the chill begins to thaw when the musician falls in love with a servant of the queen.
“The Visit of the Royal Physician” is a historical novel set around 1770 at the court of King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway, known as ‘Mad King Christian’. The novel explores the passionate love affair between Queen Caroline Mathilde (daughter of the Prince of Wales) and the king’s German physician and de facto ruler, Johann Friedrich Struensee.
“The Jade Cat” is a historical family saga that chronicles the author’s Jewish Løvin family throughout the twentieth century. It details their successful integration into Danish high society, the challenges they faced during the Second World War, and their everyday struggles, including generational conflicts, drug addiction, infidelity, and madness.
Malte, a twelve-year-old boy who lives in a Danish fishing village, is enjoying the summer of 1912, exploring the beaches and flying kites. One day, he discovers a coffin washed ashore, with the well-preserved body of a sailor who had been entombed in Greenland’s ice for years. As Malte begins to uncover the story behind the dead sailor, he also discovers a lot about the mysteries and complexities of adult life.
“Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow” is a literary crime novel centred on the mysterious death of Isaiah, a six-year-old Greenlandic boy who fell from a Copenhagen rooftop. Smilla, his neighbour, suspects foul play. When the police dismiss the case, she embarks on her own investigation to uncover the truth.
“Murder in the Dark” is a classic ‘Nordic noir’ crime novel, narrated by a journalist who, after becoming a suspect in a murder investigation, embarks on his own quest for the truth through the dark streets and bars of Copenhagen.
“The Copenhagen Trilogy” are the memoirs of Danish poet and novelist Tove Ditlevsen. The first volume, “Childhood” (Barndom), describes Ditlevsen’s upbringing in Copenhagen and the challenges she faced breaking free from her working-class background. The second volume, “Youth” (Ungdom), recounts her initial encounters with love, sex, and independence, and her determination to become a writer. The third volume, “Dependency” (Gift), describes her success as a writer, but also her personal struggles, including several failed marriages and a drug addiction facilitated by one of her husbands, who was also her doctor.
“The Good Hope” is a historical novel set in the Faroe Islands during the late 17th century. It is an epic tale of suppression and resistance, and of the conflict between darkness and light, personified by the figures of a military commander and a pastor.