The Times of the Earl
Alnæs, Karsten: Grevens tidAnother Alnæs novel that gets its material from Norwegian history, and is colored by his imagination and sensitivity.
The Times of the Earl depicts the first part of the life of Earl Herman Wedel Jarlsberg, one of the most influential of Norway’s founding fathers in 1814. He grew up as the son of the Norwegian Ambassador in Naples, The Hague, and London. The young Earl was rebellious, and he lived in unpredictable times. More than once he fought storms and English war ships crossing Skagerrak in order to get grain for starving Norwegians. Healso rallied a volunteer corps to fight the Swedes. The novel follows Herman Wedel Jarlsberg’s life, and simultaneously depicts the years of need, the blockade, the wars, and the political games of the years leading up to 1814.
