Daguerreotypes and Other Essays

by Isak Dinesen

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"Isak Dinesen . . . had an original approach to life that permeated all her work. She loved storytelling, with the result that most of her essays are quasi-narratives, which proceed not from major to minor premise but from one anecdote to another as the way of making concrete whatever idea she is considering. Her work is a delight and at times a marvel." - The New Yorker

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3 reviews
Is there anything more radiant, illuminating, and brutally honest than Isak Dinesen's writing?

"All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them."

Her writing is like taking a drink of cool water and finding a diamond at the bottom of the glass!

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Author Information

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237+ Works 18,102 Members
Isak Dinesen was born Karen Christentze Dinesen in Rungsted, Denmark on April 17, 1885. She studied English at Oxford University and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. During her lifetime, she wrote plays, short stories, novels, poetry, and nonfiction works. Her career as a writer spanned from 1907 to 1962. She was published in show more Danish under the name of Karen Blixen and in English under the pseudonym of Isak Dinesen. Her short story collections include Seven Gothic Tales, Winter Tales, and Last Tales. Her nonfiction book, Out of Africa, was published in 1937 and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Meryl Streep in 1985. She died of emaciation September 7, 1962. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Isak Dinesen has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.

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Arendt, Hannah (Foreword)
Mitchell, P. M. (Translator)
Paden, W. D. (Translator)

Common Knowledge

Original publication date
1979
First words
A short while ago an interviewer asked me whether--after having lived for many years, having felt at home in more than one country and amongst different races, and known both good and bad luck---I could sum up the events and ... (show all)experience of my life in what is called a motto.

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Literature Studies and Criticism
DDC/MDS
839.8Literature & rhetoricGerman & related literaturesOther Germanic literaturesDanish and Norwegian literatures
LCC
PT8175 .B545 .A26Language and LiteratureGerman, Dutch and Scandinavian literaturesDanish literatureIndividual authors or works1900-1960
BISAC

Statistics

Members
133
Popularity
244,969
Reviews
3
Rating
(3.90)
Languages
5 — Danish, English, German, Italian, Spanish
Media
Paper
ISBNs
8
UPCs
1
ASINs
3