Thorkild Hansen

{{Short description|Danish novelist (1927–1989)}} '''Thorkild Hansen''' (9 January 1927 – 4 February 1989) was a Danish novelist most noted for his [[ historical fiction]]. He is popularly known for his trilogy of novels about the Danish slave trade which is composed of ''[[Coast of Slaves]]'' (1967), ''[[Ships of Slaves]]'' (1968), and ''[[Islands of Slaves]]'' (1970; for which he received the [[Nordic Council Literature Prize]] in 1971).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nyrb.com/collections/thorkild-hansen |title= Thorkild Hansen (1927–1989)|publisher=New York Review Books |accessdate=December 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.africanbookscollective.com/authors-editors/thorkild-hansen |title= Thorkild Hansen|publisher= African Books Collective |accessdate=December 1, 2018}}</ref>

==Biography== Hansen was born at [[Ordrup]] in [[Gentofte Municipality]], Denmark. He attended [[Holte| Holte Gymnasium]] and from 1945–47 studied literature at the [[University of Copenhagen]]. In 1947, he moved to [[Paris]] where he wrote dispatches for the Copenhagen-based ''[[Ekstra Bladet]]''. After returning to Denmark in 1952, he devoted his efforts to a series of novels. Several featured aspects of the [[Danish overseas colonies|Danish era of imperialism]]. ''Det Lykkelige Arabien: En Dansk Ekspedition'' (1962) covered the [[Danish Arabia expedition (1761–67)]], the members of which included [[Carsten Niebuhr]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/06/17/531929925/in-the-refrains-of-arabia-felix-a-reminder-often-the-end-is-just-a-start|title= In The Refrains Of 'Arabia Felix,' A Reminder: Often The End Is Just A Start|publisher= National Public Radio|author=Colin Dwyer|work= NPR|date= 17 June 2017|accessdate=December 1, 2018}}</ref> His book ''Jens Munk'' (1965) was about Danish-Norwegian sea captain [[Jens Munk]] and his attempt to locate the [[Northwest Passage]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.norden.org/en/nominee/1971-thorkild-hansen-denmark-slavernes-oer |title= 1971 Thorkild Hansen, Denmark: Slavernes øer|publisher=Nordic Co-operation|accessdate=December 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>[http://msupress.msu.edu/authorbio.php?authorID=1862 Michigan State University author bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513224118/http://msupress.msu.edu/authorbio.php?authorID=1862 |date=2007-05-13 }}</ref>

He died prematurely during a voyage in the [[Caribbean]].<ref>F.J. Billeskov Jansen, Merete Harding: [http://denstoredanske.dk/Dansk_Biografisk_Leksikon/Kunst_og_kultur/Litteratur/Forfatter/Thorkild_Hansen Thorkild Hansen] Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, Gyldendal </ref>

==Awards== *[[Søren Gyldendal Prize]] (1963) *[[De Gyldne Laurbær]] (1966) *[[Nordic Council Literature Prize]] (1971) ==Selected works== *''Resten er Stilhed'' (1953) * ''Arabia Felix: The Danish Expedition of 1761-1767'' (''Det Lykkelige Arabien: En Dansk Ekspedition, 1761-67 '', 1962) * ''[[Coast of Slaves]]'' (''Slavernes kyst'', 1967) * ''[[Ships of Slaves]]'' (''Slavernes skibe'', 1968) * ''The Way to Hudson Bay: The Life and Times of Jens Munk''<ref>Also published in English as ''North West to Hudson's Bay: The Life and Times of Jens Munk'' (1970)</ref> * ''[[Islands of Slaves]]'' (''Slavernes øer'', 1970) * ''Processen mod Hamsun'', (1978)<ref>Apparently never translated into English; adapted as a film (1996) with [[Max von Sydow]] as Knut Hamsun</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==External links== *[https://www.gyldendal.dk/forfattere/thorkild-hansen-f21070 Thorkild Hansen] Gyldendal {{The Nordic Council's Literature Prize}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Thorkild}} [[Category:1927 births]] [[Category:1989 deaths]] [[Category:People from Gentofte Municipality]] [[Category:University of Copenhagen alumni]] [[Category:Danish male novelists]] [[Category:20th-century Danish memoirists]] [[Category:Knut Hamsun researchers]] [[Category:Nordic Council Literature Prize winners]] [[Category:20th-century Danish novelists]] [[Category:Danish expatriate writers in France]]