GUNNARSSON, GUNNAR

born May 18, 1889, Valthjfsstadur, Ice. died Nov. 21, 1975, Reykjavk novelist and short-story writer who, like many Icelanders of the 20th century, chose to write in Danish rather than limit himself to a small Icelandic public. Gunnarsson had published two collections of verse in Icelandic before he was 17. He went to Denmark determined to become a professional writer. After two years at a folk high school, he earned a precarious living as a free-lance writer. In 1912 the first volume of his novel Af Borgslgtens historie (The Borg Family Papers) appeared. It became a Scandinavian best-seller. The other three parts appeared from 1912 to 1914 (partial Eng. trans., Guest the One-Eyed). Gunnarsson lived and wrote in Denmark until 1939, when he retired to Iceland. Gunnarsson followed Af Borgslgtens historie with more than 40 novels, as well as short stories, articles, and translations. Although he wrote in Danish, he drew exclusively on his Icelandic background and Icelandic history for his novels. Gunnarsson's works have been widely translated, and outside Scandinavia they have been particularly popular in Germany.