Denmark’s Catalyst: The Life and Letters of N.F.S. Grundtvig

Denmark’s Catalyst: The Life and Letters of N.F.S. Grundtvig is the last book in the 6-volume series ‘N.F.S. Grundtvig. Works in English.’ Translator Edward Broadbridge joins forces with Grundtvig scholar Hans Raun Iversen in this new biography of the most influential Dane in modern Denmark. Grundtvig (1783-1872) was a pastor, pedagogue, poet, politician, and philosopher all rolled into one. Best known internationally for his concepts of a people’s (folk) high school, of ‘learning for life’ and of ‘lifelong learning’, in Denmark he is equally famous as the nation-builder and champion of ‘the common good’ – Denmark’s modern watchword.

This comprehensive, illustrated biography is supplemented by 70 letters tracing Grundtvig’s personal experiences first-hand in surprisingly honest terms, including his love life, his depressions, and his four trips to England.