Books

Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag,, 1892. Hurra for bygmester Solness" - a beautifully preserved copy First trade edition, cloth issue, scarce in such fine condition, particularly with the original dust jacket; we can trace no copies in jacket in auction records. With Bymester Solness, Ibsen demonstrates his mastery of dramatic poetry and autobiography in the depiction of the aging architect, Halvard Solness, who fears the diminution of his creativity. In 1891, Ibsen returned to Norway after a self-imposed 27-year exile, keenly aware that he had to refresh and sharpen his knowledge of Norwegian life. "Compared to Hedda Gabler [published two years earlier], there may be found in Solness an even more intense realism. But there is the same intensity of dramatic situation, the same unfailing microscopic skill in the portrayal of character, and, above all, the same precision and power in studying and tracing the sources and growth of emotion" (Price, p. 258). Under the…

"Bygmester Solness" (The Master Builder) is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered in 1892 and explores themes of ambition, power, and guilt.