Reconstructing Shakespeare in the Nordic Countries

Nely Keinänen is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Recently she has been studying the early reception of Shakespeare in Finland. She is on the board of the Nordic Shakespeare Society (NorSS).Per Sivefors is Associate Professor of English Literature at Linnaeus University, Sweden. He has published extensively on early modern literature and culture. He is chair of the Nordic Shakespeare Society (NorSS).

• List of Illustrations AcknowledgementsNotes on ContributorsIntroductionNely Keinänen (University of Helsinki, Finland) and Per Sivefors (Linnaeus University, Sweden)1. Early Icelandic Translations of Shakespeare: Settings, Contexts, Cultural Transfer, Ástráður Eysteinsson and Ingibjörg Þórisdóttir (University of Iceland, Iceland)2. Ida Aalberg and the First Finnish-Language Romeo and Juliet (1881), Nely Keinänen (University of Helsinki, Finland)3. Kaarlo Bergbom and the Finnish-Language Shakespeare Tradition: The Finnish National Revival, German Romanticism, Theatrical Resources and Personal Wishes, Pentti Paavolainen (University of Helsinki, Finland)4. Shakespeare and Norwegian National Theatre, 1899–1914, Christina Sandhaug (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway)5. Commemoration and Conflict at Hamlet’s Castle: The 1916 ‘Shakespeare Mindefest’ in Elsinore, Anne Sophie Refskou (Aarhus University, Denmark)6. Nynorsk and the Nordic Spirit: Henrik Rytter’s Shakespeare Translations (1932–1933), Svenn-Arve Myklebost (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway) 7. ‘A great interpreter of modern life’: Eyvind Johnson and the Changing Perception of Shakespeare, Per Sivefors (Linnaeus University, Sweden)Afterword by Michael Dobson (University of Birmingham, UK)Appendix: Nordic Shakespeare 1880–1940: A TimelineIndex

The book fulfils its promise ... span[ning] from an almost comprehensive review of the Shakespeare productions in a period to the study of an individual play in the context of a nationally renowned writer’s career. The book is a testament to the expansive nature of Shakespeare’s significance and comes together to form an interesting reading experience.