Kristian Kristiansen

Who was Kristian Kristiansen?

Kristian Kristiansen was a Norwegian novelist, playwright, writer of short stories, and children's writer.

He was born in Tromsø as the son of carpenter Ingbert Kristiansen and Ingeborg Haugen. The family moved to Trøndelag when Kristian was nine years old. After middle school he held several different jobs. Starting in 1936, he published a large number of short stories in the magazine Arbeidermagasinet. In the late 1930s he published two short plays, Det dages and Medaljen, and the children's book Eggtjuver i fugleberget. His first novel, Vi bærer et bilde, came in 1939. His youth's book Jeg er ingen spion! from 1940 is one of the very few books published in Norway throughout the Second World War where it is told from the unoccupied parts of the country during the battles in 1940.

During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, which started in 1940, Kristian became involved in resistance work. In 1942 he had to flee to Sweden. There he met the physician Ellen Hedlund; their subsequent marriage lasted from 1943 until 1955. In 1959 he married architect Turid Ellefsen.