DOCSLIB.ORG

Lieutenant Thomas Fasti Dinesen VC Lieutenant Thomas Fasti Dinesen VC

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Lieutenant Thomas Fasti Dinesen VC Lieutenant Thomas Fasti Dinesen VC LORD ASHCROFT'S "HERO OF THE MONTH" LORD ASHCROFT'S "HERO OF THE MONTH" Lieutenant Thomas Fasti Dinesen VC Lieutenant Thomas Fasti Dinesen VC VICTORIA CROSS HEROES II Lieutenant Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is a businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. His sixth book on gallantry, Victoria Cross Heroes Volume II was published in hardback in 2016 and is now available in paperback. Thomas Fasti For more information, please visit: www.victoriacrossheroes2.com Lord Ashcroft’s VC and GC collection is on public display at Imperial War Museum, London. For more information visit: www.iwm.org.uk/heroes. For details about LORD ASHCROFT'S Dinesen his VC collection, visit: www.lordashcroftmedals.com For more information on Lord Ashcroft’s work, visit: "HERO OF www.lordashcroft.com. Follow him on Twitter: @LordAshcroft THE MONTH" VC volunteered for numerous trench ABOVE LEFT raids, though he initially took part in Thomas Dinesen’s no major battles. During their early VC medal group. AGGRESSION days on the front line, Dinesen and his To the left of the comrades were subjected to both gas Victoria Cross is BOLDNESS • INITIATIVE and shell attacks. the Knight’s Cross LEADERSHIP • SACRIFICE In Merry Hell! he wrote: “Hizzz-Crash!! of the Order of The shells are bursting both in front Dannebrog, to SKILL • ENDURANCE and behind our hiding-place; the the right the The many Victoria Crosses and George Crosses in the Lord very ground is trembling and we too Croix de Guerre. Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum in London are tremble. Our hair is standing on end (LORD ASHCROFT displayed under one of seven different qualities of bravery. – but – are we scared? Are we down- COLLECTION) Lieutenant Thomas Dinesen’s VC medal group is part of the hearted? No!!” collection and Lord Ashcroft feels that it falls within the In May 1918, during a spell behind LEFT category of aggression: the front line, Dinesen was chosen The 42nd “For many actions killing is the means to the end. To Battalion CEF prevail, maximum force has to be applied. Aggression is to take part in a Non-Commissioned rd invariably fast and adrenalin fuelled. It epitomises the idea Officer (NCO) training course, was part of 3 of ‘hot courage’, acting quickly in the mayhem of battle.” which took up most of June until he Canadian Division returned to the front line in early July. for the duration At times he bemoaned his lowly rank, of its service ABOVE RIGHT HOMAS FASTI Dinesen leave everything and go in search of writing: “I wish I were an officer and objective would be to take the town shot at one of the two, and the other on the Western Canadian was born in Rungsted, near the real war. There was – in my set, could get a chance to follow events! A of Parvillers. Dinesen wrote modestly disappears around a corner. The road Front. This picture journalists talking T Copenhagen, Denmark, anyhow – a firm conviction [that] the private soldier is moved about like a about his own part in the fighting is free! ‘Come on boys, give them hell!’” shows Mk.V to men of the on 9 August 1892. He was the son future of humanity, the continuance tethered cow.” and his VC action, but he did describe tanks passing 42nd Battalion of Captain Adolph Dinesen and his of civilisation, the salvation of the During an offensive, Dinesen noted some of what happened: “I turn a VICTORIA CROSS soldiers of the 3rd CEF (Royal wife Ingeborg (née Westenholz). world, depended on the subjugation of in Merry Hell!: “The whole of the corner quickly – two grey Germans CITATION Canadian Division Highlanders of Thomas Dinesen came from a wealthy, Germany.” western horizon bursts into flame as stand straight in front of me ... Two Dinesen was awarded the VC for as they advance Canada) in the aristocratic, military family and his In April 1917, with Denmark still if the earth had opened.” In his book, red flashes straight into my face – courage displayed during the Battle in the early part reserve trenches grandfather, as well as his father, neutral and Dinesen desperate to fight Dinesen related how he had been told done for already! – but they haven’t of Amiens on 12 August 1918, three of the Battle of in July 1918, prior served as an officer in the Danish the Germans, he sailed to America by an officer that the 42nd Battalion’s hit me, so now it’s my turn. A snap- days after his 26th birthday. Amiens in August to the start of the Army. His sister was Isak Dinesen where once again he was unable to 1918. German Battle of Amiens, (later Baroness Karen Blixen), the enlist into the US forces. He finally prisoners can which, marking author of Out of Africa (in the film of succeeded in being accepted for be seen heading the opening of the same name she is played by Meryl military service when he went to the towards the rear. the Hundred Days Streep) and other works. New York recruiting office of the (DEPARTMENT Offensive, began Thomas Dinesen was educated Canadian Army in June 1917. OF NATIONAL on 8 August 1918. at Rungsted State School and the DEFENCE/LIBRARY Polytechnical School, Copenhagen. PATH TO WAR AND ARCHIVES Before the war, he worked as an Dinesen enlisted as a private CANADA) RIGHT engineer and in 1914 he became a into the Royal Highlanders A portrait of Lt member of the Academic Rifle Corps, of Canada and was posted Thomas Fasti in which he established himself as a to Guy Street Barracks, LEFT Dinesen VC, who first-class shot. After the outbreak Montreal. Three Personnel of the was serving in of the Great War in August 1914, months later he was 42nd Battalion the 42nd Battalion he tried to join the French and sent to the UK, CEF (Royal CEF (Royal British armies, but they would only where he underwent Highlanders of Highlanders accept their own nationals. In his training at Bramshott Canada) moving of Canada) at book about his wartime experiences, and Aldershot in up to the front the time of Merry Hell! A Dane with the Canadians, Hampshire. In March during 1918. his VC action. Dinesen wrote: “But from the very 1918, Dinesen travelled (LIBRARY AND (LORD ASHCROFT first day of August [1914] I knew to France with his ARCHIVES CANADA/ COLLECTION) that, sooner or later, I should have to battalion where he PA-003265) 110 www.britainatwar.com www.britainatwar.com 111 LORD ASHCROFT'SLieutenant "HERO Thomas OF THE Fasti DinesenMONTH" VC RIGHT His citation, announced in the London General Sir Gazette on 26 October 1918, read: “For Douglas Haig, on most conspicuous and continuous horseback and bravery displayed during ten hours of accompanied by hand-to-hand fighting which led to a standard bearer, the capture of over a mile of strongly congratulates garrisoned and stubbornly defended Canadian troops enemy trenches. following the “Five times in succession he rushed Battle of Amiens. forward alone and single-handed put (DEPARTMENT OF hostile machine guns out of action, NATIONAL DEFENCE/ accounting for 12 of the enemy with LIBRARY AND bomb and bayonet. His sustained ARCHIVES CANADA) valour and resourcefulness inspired his comrades at a very critical stage of the BELOW RIGHT action, and were an example to all.” Battlefield salvage On 21 August 1918, during more underway – a heavy fighting, Dinesen displayed was commissioned as a lieutenant and, got off without a scratch, with all my pile of German further bravery that led to the award six days later, when the war ended, he aspirations and dreams fulfilled. And helmets recovered of the French Croix de Guerre. His was based at Mons, Belgium. they rewarded me, into the bargain!” by Canadian other decorations included the Knight’s Dinesen received his VC from From 1920 to 1925, Dinesen lived in units from the Cross of the Order of Dannebrog from King George V at an investiture at Kenya, working as a farmer and civil ground around the King of Denmark. Dinesen was Buckingham Palace on 13 December engineer. In the aftermath of the war, Amiens, pictured promoted to acting corporal in August 1918. He was demobbed in January he helped his sister manage her coffee in August 1918. 1918 and then spent a month at an 1919, still with the rank of lieutenant. farm in the Ngong Hills, south-west (DEPARTMENT OF officers’ school. On 5 November, he Dinesen wrote: “We won the war ... I of Nairobi. From 1925 onwards, and NATIONAL DEFENCE/ having returned to live in Denmark, LIBRARY AND Dinesen farmed an estate in Jutland. ARCHIVES CANADA) He married Joanna Lindhardt, the daughter of the Lutheran Dean of BOTTOM Arhus, in Denmark, in April 1926 Men of the and the couple went on to have 42nd Battalion two daughters. Dinesen was also an CEF (Royal enthusiastic author and penned several Highlanders of books, including a biography of his Canada) stop to famous sister. He died in Leerbaek, rest in the Grand Denmark, on 10 March 1979, aged Place in Mons on 86, and is buried in the family plot at the morning of 11 Hørsholm Cemetery, Rungsted. November 1918. I purchased the medal group of this (DEPARTMENT OF colourful character privately in 2013 NATIONAL DEFENCE/ and I feel privileged to be the custodian LIBRARY AND of such a distinguished set of gallantry ARCHIVES CANADA) and service medals. 112 www.britainatwar.com www.britainatwar.com 113.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Thomas Dinesen Junior Speech 12-10-2018 P.1/3 Your Majesty, You
    Your Majesty, you’re Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen I am, very honored, proud and thankful, to represent the family today and take part in the unveiling of the bust of our grandfather Thomas Dinesen, in connection with the commemoration of the centenary of the end of the Great war. Our grandfather Thomas Dinesen, was an exceptional man in many ways. As a soldier, sailor, hunter, resistance fighter, author, adventurer, public figure, brother, husband, and patriac. Today however, we are focusing on his role as cofounder and later Chairman of The Danish War Veterans of the Allies. And of course as a private soldier in the 42 Battalion, Royal Highlanders of Canada– The Black Watch, during the 1 st World War, where he was awarded the Victoria Cross “for valour”. Denmark was neutral during the war. As a consequence, the knowledge and understanding of the historic events between 1914 and 1918, is for Denmark that of a bystander. In the same way understanding the uniqueness, of the Victoria Cross and how it`s recipients are perceived in Great Britain and the Commonwealth, are somewhat lost on most Danes. Personally I have a different perspective, maybe quite naturally from being brought up with the stories of Grandfather`s deeds, both from himself and other family members, but also from having gone to School in England. I have a brother who lives and is married in England, I have been in the Danish army and am a member of the Special Forces club, based in London. So I have often been exposed, to how the British view this very special decoration rewarded, for courage in the face of the enemy.
    [Show full text]
  • In and out of Africa She Was the Girl Who Lost It All – the Father, the Husband, the Farm and the Love of Her Life – but Won It Back by Writing About It
    SCANDINAVIAN KAREN BLIXEN LEGENDS Bror and Karen Blixen as big game hunters in 1914. In and out of Africa She was the girl who lost it all – the father, the husband, the farm and the love of her life – but won it back by writing about it. KAREN huNtINg BLIXEN chose not to take her own life and against all odds she survived the syphilis she got from her husband – but died from undernourishment. Marianne Juhl tells the spectacular story of the foR A LIfE Danish author who became world famous for her novel Out of Africa. 2 SCANORAMA MARCH 2007 SCANORAMA MARCH 2007 3 n April 10, 1931, Karen Blixen sat down at Finch Hatton. Before long the two of them were embroiled in a the desk on her farm in the Ngong Hills in passionate affair. But Blixen was to lose Hatton, too. In 1931, his Kenya to write the most important letter little Gypsy Moth biplane crashed in flames in Kenya. Even if of her life. It was one week before her 46th there was much to suggest that the initial ardor in their relation- LEGENDS birthday and 17 years after she first came ship had cooled by this time, she nevertheless lost a close and to the country and the people whom she had grown to love with much-loved friend in the most dramatic of circumstances. oall her heart. Now, however, her coffee plantation was bankrupt She received the news of Hatton’s plane crash shortly before and had been sold. Karen had spent the past six months toiling learning she must leave the coffee farm in the Ngong Hills that she to gather in the final harvest and trying to secure the prospects had spent 17 years of her life running and fighting for – first with for her African helpers.
    [Show full text]
  • Danish Victoria Cross Recipients
    DANISH VICTORIA CROSS RECIPIENTS ED EMERING During World War I and World War II four Danes were occasions in the face of intense fire and managed awarded the Victoria Cross (Figure 1). Their names and to rescue six of the wounded. For his bravery and a brief biography of each is given below. leadership, he was the first Dane to receive the Victoria Cross. He continued serving during World War I and World War II and was eventually promoted to Brigadier. His Victoria Cross, along with his other medals, is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London. He is buried at the Garrison Cemetery in Copenhagen. Figure 1: The Victoria Cross. Brigadier Percy Hansen, VC, DSO and Bar, MC, (1890- 1951) (Figure 2) was born in Durban, South Africa. At age 24, he found himself serving as a Captain in the 6th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment at Gallipoli, Turkey. On August 9, 1915, his Battalion was forced to retreat in the face of a deliberately set bush fire, leaving Figure 3: Corporal Jorgen Christian Jensen, VC. several wounded members on the field and in danger of being burned to death. Captain Hansen, along with Corporal Jorgen Christian Jensen, VC, (1891-1922) some volunteers re-entered the battlefield on several (Figure 4), who was born in Logstor, Denmark and who later became a British subject, received his Victoria Cross for actions at Noreuil, France during April 1917. On April 2nd, along with five comrades, he attacked a German barricade and machine gun position, resulting in the death of one German and the surrender of 45 others.
    [Show full text]
  • Scan D Inavistica Viln Ensis 3
    IS SCAN S D N 3 I N E A N V L I I S V T I A C Centre of Scandinavian Studies Faculty of Philology Vilnius University Ieva Steponavi)i*t+ Texts at Play Te Ludic Aspect of Karen Blixen’s Writings Vilnius University 2011 UDK / UDC 821.113.4(092) St-171 Te production of this book was funded by a grant (No MOK-23/2010) from the Research Council of Lithuania. Reviewed by Charlote Engberg, Associate Professor, Lic Phil (Roskilde University, Denmark) Jørgen Stender Clausen, Professor Emeritus (University of Pisa, Italy) Editorial board for the Scandinavistica Vilnensis series Dr Habil Jurij K. Kusmenko (Institute for Linguistic Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg / Humboldt University, Germany) Dr Phil Anatoly Liberman (University of Minnesota, USA) Dr Ērika Sausverde (Vilnius University) Dr Ieva Steponavičiūtė-Aleksiejūnienė (Vilnius University) Dr Aurelijus Vijūnas (National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan) Approved for publishing at the meeting of the Council of the Faculty of Philology of Vilnius University (17 06 2011, record No 7) Designer Tomas Mrazauskas © Ieva Steponavičiūtė, 2011 © Vilnius University, 2011 ISSN 2029-2112 ISBN 978-9955-634-80-5 Vilnius University, Universiteto g. 3, LT-01513 Vilnius Tel. +370 5 268 7260 · www.leidykla.eu Centre of Scandinavian Studies · Faculty of Philology · Vilnius University Universiteto g. 5, LT-01513 Vilnius Tel. +370 5 268 7235 · www.skandinavistika.ff.vu.lt To my family Much is demanded of those who are to be really profcient at play. Courage and imagination, humor and intelligence, but in particular that blend of unselfshness, generosity, self-control and courtesy that is called gentilezza.
    [Show full text]
  • Peetz: Erzählen Und Erzählungen in Blixen-Filmen
    BERLINER BEITRÄGE ZUR SKANDINAVISTIK Titel/ »Erzählen und Erzählungen in Blixen-Filmen« title: Autor(in)/ Heike Peetz author: In: Heike Peetz, Stefanie von Schnurbein und Kirsten Wechsel (Hg.): Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen/Tania Blixen. Eine internationale Erzählerin der Moderne. Berlin: Nordeuropa-Institut, 2008 ISBN: 3-932406-27-3 978-3-932406-27-0 Reihe/ Berliner Beiträge zur Skandinavistik, Bd. 12 series: ISSN: 0933-4009 Seiten/ 77-96 pages: © Copyright: Nordeuropa-Institut Berlin und Autoren © Copyright: Department for Northern European Studies Berlin and authors Diesen Band gibt es weiterhin zu kaufen. HEIKE PEETZ Erzählen und Erzählungen in Blixen-Filmen I Men muligheden for filmatiseringer af hendes arbejder interesserede hende al- tid, skønt hun selv var en sjælden gæst i biografen. Som sagt var hun helt naturligt interesseret i de indtægter, filmatiseringer kunne medføre, men alligevel var hun først og fremmest skeptisk overfor, hvad »filmmagere nu kunne finde på af fordrejninger«, som hun engang sagde.1 [Karen Blixen war immer an möglichen Verfilmungen ihrer Arbeiten interes- siert, auch wenn sie selbst selten ins Kino ging. Natürlich war sie an den Ein- nahmen aus den Verfilmungen interessiert, aber dennoch fragte sie sich vor al- lem skeptisch »auf was für Verdrehungen die Filmemacher kommen würden«, wie sie einmal sagte.] So äußert sich Keith Keller in seinem 1999 erschienenen Buch Karen Bli- xen og Filmen. Keller, der als Filmjournalist sowohl für dänische Tages- zeitungen als auch für das amerikanische Branchenblatt Variety schreibt, kannte die Autorin aus familiären Beziehungen. In seinem Buch stellt er diverse, häufig nicht verwirklichte Filmprojekte vor, die sich auf Blixen und ihre Werke beziehen.
    [Show full text]
  • History of the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages
    HISTORY OF THE KAREN BLIXEN COFFEE GARDEN & COTTAGES LTD. BY DR. BONNIE DUNBAR The Historic Swedo House was built around 1908 by the Swedo-African Coffee Company. Dr. Dunbar purchased the property and re- stored the old house in 1999. The Historic Swedo-House is a typical example of the architecture that existed during the pio- neering days of Kenya. It was built raised on stilts (still in place today with re-enforcement) which were to protect the building from water and termite damage. From “Letters From Africa The house was smaller than it is today, and consisted of 3 rooms and a veranda with a kitchen some yards away. It had corrugated iron walls lined with wood inside and a railed veranda and arched roof . In later years the walls outside “Swedo House” were “modernized” by removing the corrugated iron and replacing it with cement plastered over chicken wire. Inside the walls were paneled with Hessian which was painted with a thin layer of cement and finally white washed. The “prefabricated” slotted wood walls were imported from Europe sometime before the 1920s.The original colored lead windows remain intact today as they are shown with the original settlers. Anecdotal information from a neighbor (Mr. Russel) in Ka- ren is that his father built his house in 1908 and he knew that the Swedo house was two years older. (That house is no longer standing) It is told that United States President Theodore Roosevelt who was hosted by Sir Northrup McMillan hunted out of the Swedo House dur- ing his famous visit to Kenya in 1908 to collect specimens for the National Museums in Ameri- ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Min Karen Blixen-Samling Og Et Praktisk Problem
    Min Karen Blixen-samling og et praktisk problem Af K.F.Plesner Egentlig totalsamler af nogen enkelt forfatter har jeg aldrig været. Ikke engang af Baggesen. Sa skulle det snarere være af Johannes Smith, fordi vi for en menneskealder siden blev enige om for alle tilfældes skyld at udstationere et eksemplar af hvad vi skrev hos hinanden. Derimod har jeg af ikke så få forfattere nogenlunde fuld­ stændige rækker af originaludgaver — og, som jeg har sagt før: original er enhver udgave som bringer en ny, ændret eller øget text, fra senere optryk kan man roligt se bort, medmindre de skulle rumme et videnskabeligt noteapparat, som jo i så fald er originalt. En totalsamler af Karen Blixen måtte vel til at begynde med sla fast, at hun hører til en skrivende familie. Udgangspunktet måtte da blive hendes bedstefar A. W. Dinesens sjældne lille bog Abd-el-Kader, 1840, om krigen i Algier, hvori han deltog som frivillig. Dernæst hendes far Wilhelm Dinesen, af hvem man foruden de to samlinger Jagtbreve, 1889, og Nye Jagt­ breve, 1892, helst i de kønne, grønne komponerede shirtings­ bind, ikke blot skulle have bogen om kampen om Dybbøl, Fra ottende Brigade, 1889, og om hans deltagelse i den fransk­ tyske krig, Paris under Gommunen, 1872, men også de to udsnit fra Tilskueren 1887 om hans Ophold i De forenede Stater. Af hendes bror Thomas Dinesen er der både hans skildringer fra første verdenskrig No Man's Land, 1928, og hans egne uhyggelige og fantastiske fortællinger Syrenbusken, 1966 213 K. F. PLESNER 1952. Og endelig søsteren Ellen Dahl, der bl.a.
    [Show full text]
  • Wechsel: Wa(H)Re Identität
    BERLINER BEITRÄGE ZUR SKANDINAVISTIK Titel/ »Wa(h)re Identität. Karen Blixens/Isak Dinesens Autorschaft im title: Zeichen der Kulturindustrie« Autor(in)/ Kirsten Wechsel author: In: Heike Peetz, Stefanie von Schnurbein und Kirsten Wechsel (Hg.): Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen/Tania Blixen. Eine internationale Erzählerin der Moderne. Berlin: Nordeuropa-Institut, 2008 ISBN: 3-932406-27-3 978-3-932406-27-0 Reihe/ Berliner Beiträge zur Skandinavistik, Bd. 12 series: ISSN: 0933-4009 Seiten/ 151-170 pages: © Copyright: Nordeuropa-Institut Berlin und Autoren © Copyright: Department for Northern European Studies Berlin and authors Diesen Band gibt es weiterhin zu kaufen. KIRSTEN WECHSEL Wa(h)re Identität. Karen Blixens/Isak Dinesens Autorschaft im Zeichen der Kulturindustrie1 Die dänische Schriftstellerin Karen Blixen (1885–1962) – ihrem angelsäch- sischen Publikum unter dem Pseudonym Isak Dinesen bekannt – war immer wieder Gegenstand sowohl populärer Biographik als auch biogra- phisch gefärbter Literaturwissenschaft. In seiner ›queeren‹ Blixen-Lek- türe stellt der dänische Literaturwissenschaftler Dag Heede das immense biographische Interesse an Blixen in einen Zusammenhang mit ihrem ›posthumanen‹ Weltbild. In ihren Texten gäbe es, so lautet Heedes These, weder ›Menschen‹ noch ›Männer‹ oder ›Frauen‹, vielmehr dekonstruier- ten sie die Grundvorstellungen der modernen westlichen Kultur und ver- drängten das Subjekt aus dem Zentrum. Dies provoziere einen biographi- schen Diskurs, der das Menschliche hinter den so bedrohlich menschen- leeren Texten aufzuspüren
    [Show full text]
  • University of Copenhagen – ‘Carnival’ – Which Will Be the Subject of This Paper, Is Much Less Known
    Flappers and Macabre Dandies Karen Blixen's "Carnival" in the Light of Søren Kierkegaard Bunch, Mads Published in: Scandinavica: An International Journal of Scandinavian Studies Publication date: 2012 Document version Early version, also known as pre-print Citation for published version (APA): Bunch, M. (2012). Flappers and Macabre Dandies: Karen Blixen's "Carnival" in the Light of Søren Kierkegaard. Scandinavica: An International Journal of Scandinavian Studies, 50(2), 74-108. Download date: 07. Apr. 2020 Scandinavica Vol 50 No 2 2011 Scandinavica Vol 50 No 2 2011 Flappers and Macabre Dandies: Introduction Karen Blixen’s ‘Carnival’ Two works, both influenced by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, in the light of Søren Kierkegaard frame Karen Blixen’s production. Ehrengard – the late one – is by far the most famous. It was published a year after Karen Blixen’s death in 1963 and has had considerate attention from scholars, especially Mads Bunch in the past ten years (Sørensen, Møller and Kondrup). The early one University of Copenhagen – ‘Carnival’ – which will be the subject of this paper, is much less known. It is an early Gothic Tale, intended for the collection ‘Nine Tales by Nozdref’s Cook’ (Lasson 2008: 478), but it did not make Abstract the final cut (neither did ‘The Caryatids’) for what eventually became Despite almost making the cut for what later became Seven Seven Gothic Tales (1934) (Braad Thomsen 2011: 152). ‘Carnival’ was Gothic Tales (1934), Karen Blixen’s tale ‘Carnival’ has so far probably for the most part written in Africa 1926-27, but revised in had little attention by scholars.
    [Show full text]
  • Karen Blixens Den Afrikanske Farm Og Moderne Boghistorie”
    Abstract til speciale “Karen Blixens Den afrikanske Farm og moderne boghistorie” Karen Blixen or Isak Dinesen, as she is known inside the Anglo-American literature, is one of the most famous Danish authors in the world. Her second book from 1937, Den afrikanske Farm (Out of Africa) has been translated to more 20 different languages and is still her most popular book in Denmark. The book is, according to Blixen herself, a tale of the years she spent as a coffee farmer in the English colony, British East Africa (or Kenya) from 1914-31. Just like all the translation of her book, Blixen, her literature and Life has been the subject to many analyses. However, so far only one, with perspective of the discipline book history. Journalist Marianne Juhl wrote the article ”Om Den afrikanske Farm – tilblivelsen, udgivelsen og modtagelsen af Karen Blixens anden bog” in 1984, where she examined the history of Den afrikanske Farms publishing. She did, however, not use any tools or theories from book history. This I want to change. With the theory from Robert Darnton ground-breaking article ”What is the History of Books?” from 1982. In this paper, I wish develop Juhl’s work further by modifying the analytical model, Darntons proposed book historians to use, his Communications Circuit. The circuit runs through six general phases; the author, the publisher, the printers, the shippers, the booksellers and the readers. The circuit runs full with the reader, as authors often are readers themselves. I’ve chosen to focus on the author, the publisher and the
    [Show full text]
  • Kierkegaard and Blixen As Artists of the Mask and Masters of Irony (Ibid
    Karen Blixen. The Devil's Advocate Reading Blixen in the Light of Kierkegaard Bunch, Mads Publication date: 2013 Document version Tidlig version også kaldet pre-print Citation for published version (APA): Bunch, M. (2013). Karen Blixen. The Devil's Advocate: Reading Blixen in the Light of Kierkegaard. Det Humanistiske Fakultet, Københavns Universitet. Download date: 27. sep.. 2021 FACULTY OF HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN PhD thesis Mads Bunch Karen Blixen. The Devil’s Advocate - Reading Blixen in the Light of Kierkegaard Academic advisor: Poul Behrendt Submitted: 22/8/2013 Institut for Nordiske Studier og Sprogvidenskab / Department of Scandinavian Studies and Linguistics, University of Copenhagen. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword 1 Thanks 3 Introduction 3 1. RESEARCH SURVEY: THE BLIXEN-KIERKEGAARD SCHOLARSHIP 7 1934-1969 7 1970-1994 13 1995-2013 17 The New Perspectives 20 2. THE EXTRATEXTUAL CONNECTIONS 33 Kierkegaard in Blixen’s Library at Rungstedlund 34 Other Works about Kierkegaard Known to Blixen 35 Conclusion: Extratextual Connections to Kierkegaard 39 Humor or Irony? 40 3. CHRISTIANITY: BLIXEN AND KIERKEGAARD 42 Early Critique of Christianity 43 Sandhedens Hævn 46 The Gospel of Nature and Joy 49 The Marionette Motive 51 Nature and the Poet as God 55 Early Nemesis: Truth as the Nemesis of the Lie 57 The Concept of Christi-Anxiety 59 “En Historie om en Perle” 61 Christianity is just a Sign: “Clothes Mangled Here” 68 Intermezzo 69 4. “CARNIVAL” Flappers and Macabre Dandies: Karen Blixen’s “Carnival” in the light of Søren Kierkegaard (Bunch 2011). 69 “Carnival”: Theoretical and Methodical Reflections 107 “Carnival”: Additional Observations 108 Annelise and Kierkegaard’s “det unge Menneske” 108 The Shadow as Conscience and Guilt 111 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Seven Gothic Tales in 1934
    “Take a Taste” 1 2 “Take a Taste”: Selling Isak Dinesen’s Seven Gothic Tales in 1934 Moa Matthis Department of Language Studies Umeå 2014 3 Department of Language Studies Umeå University SE-901 87 Umeå http://www.sprak.umu.se http://umu.diva-portal.org Studier i språk och litteratur från Umeå universitet 22 This work is protected by the Swedish Copyright Legislation (Act 1960:729) Cover Illustration: Mika Matthis Cover Layout: Ida Holmgren Printed in Sweden by Print & Media, Umeå 2014 ISBN: 978-91-7601-013-6 4 Table of Contents Introduction This Little Book Went to Market Book-of-the-Month-Club 20 Consumer Culture 28 The Flood of Books and the Image of the Author 39 Selling Stories 50 Consuming Isak Dinesen 56 Saving Isak Dinesen for Modernism 62 A Race Apart? A Peculiar Mania 73 A Race Apart and Verisimilitude 79 Ridiculous but Real 88 Profitable Appearances 90 Navigating Through the Literary Fog Gothic Tales? 118 The Allegorical Compass 127 Perfectly Real Human Beings Salvaged by the Past? 142 Salvaged by Romance? 148 Unachievable Closure 160 Nomadic Identities and Desires 163 Conclusion 171 Sammanfattning 179 Works cited 185 Index 197 5 Acknowledgements Having spent most of my life selling my words on a commercial market, it has not been easy to adapt to the academic world where the reader has to be imagined differently. At the same time, I firmly believe that the academic reader is no different from the reader in the commercial sphere in that both of them read in order to share the thoughts of our own time.
    [Show full text]