Knut Hamsun was born in Norway in 1859. Hunger was his first novel. He went on to write many works of fiction, including Mysteries, Pan and Victoria. He died in 1952, and since then a growing number of readers have been drawn to his work for its extraordinary qualities of insight and imagination.

Sverre Lyngstad has translated a number of Knut Hamsun's novels. He is the recipient of several awards and honours, including the St Olav Medal and the Knight's Cross, First Class, of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. He died in 2011.