Jonas Lauritz Idemil Lie was born in 1833. He is considered to be one of the four great Norwegian novelists. He was sent to naval school, but his poor eyesight made him unsuitable for a career at sea. In 1857 he received his law degree and set up practice. His works range from adventures at sea to the misfortunes and narrow life of women. His first novel, The Visionary or Pictures from Nordland is a story of the sea and the superstitions of Scandinavia. The Family at Gilje tells the story of the life of an officer's family. Trolls is a collection of short pieces which are examples of the superstitions of the fishermen and coast commoners of Norway. From The Visionary, "David Holst, is one of those unhappy beings who seem doomed to a more than ordinary share of the ills of life. He has inherited from his mother at least a tendency to insanity, and he lives in fear of being involved in a terrible catastrophe, from which he only saves himself by strong efforts of will and by the recollection of the lost love of his youth. The awful calamity which overtook him at the very moment his betrothal to Susanna was sanctioned by her father proved, in fact, his salvation, and delivered him from madness, but its effects were never eradicated." David had a vision of a lady with a white rose which marked the approach of a calamity. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.