MYSTERIES

"Last year, in the middle of summer, a small Norwegian coastal town became the scene of some very unusual events. A stranger appeared in town, a certain Nagel, a strange and peculiar charlatan who did a lot of remarkable things and who disappeared again as suddenly as he had arrived."

"In his opinion, there was only one poet in Norway, and it wasn't Ibsen."

1892

Mysteries (1892) starts with a riddle: Who is it that one summer day steps off the coastal boat in a small, flag-adorned southern town?

The stranger turns out to be Johan Nilsen Nagel. He is dressed in a striking yellow suit and has a small bottle of prussic acid hidden in his vest pocket.

Nagel immediately attracts attention with his outlandish appearance and eccentric behavior. He falls in love with the priest's daughter, Dagny Kielland, who is already engaged, and begins a friendship with the coastal town's minnow, Minunte. After a while, he proposes to the white-haired and poor Marta Gude, before finally taking his own life.

But the mysteries survive him: Who was he really? What caused his fascination with the Minute? And does Nagel have anything to do with the death of theologian Karlsen?

The novel received a mixed reception in Norway. Many saw Nagel as a mouthpiece for the author and were provoked by his harsh and politically incorrect opinions.