prince_michael
2001 Nominated

Prince

artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

It is 1912 at a provincial Danish seaside hotel. Twelve-year-old Malte, a charity case from the city, revels in the freedom of summer, even as he weathers the dramas in his small world: condescending or friendly adults, a pregnant hotel maid, and a runaway rogue. One day, Malte discovers a coffin that has drifted ashore. No one claims the handsome young sailor inside. But the ancient crone living all alone in the amber castle seems to be hiding something.

Soon Malte is absorbed in the sailor’s tragic love story and dramatic death, and their fates become dangerously intertwined. Beautifully written, ‘Prince’ hovers on a seductive borderline between realism and fantasy, between a sun-kissed, salt-streaked oceanside summer world and a mythical universe where time and place merge.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Ib
Michael

Ib Michael, born in 1945, is one of Denmark’s foremost writers. The author of more than twenty books, he has traveled throughout the world. He lives in Copenhagen.

Ib Michael, born in 1945, is one of Denmark’s foremost writers. The author of more than twenty books, he has traveled throughout the world. He lives in Copenhagen.

ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Barbara
J. Haveland

Barbara J. Haveland is a Scottish literary translator, based in Copenhagen. She translates fiction, poetry and drama from Danish and Norwegian to English. She has translated works by many leading Danish and Norwegian writers, both classic and contemporary, including Henrik Ibsen, Peter Høeg, Linn Ullmann and Carl Frode Tiller. Her English-language translation of On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025.

Barbara J. Haveland is a Scottish literary translator, based in Copenhagen. She translates fiction, poetry and drama from Danish and Norwegian to English. She has translated works by many leading Danish and Norwegian writers, both classic and contemporary, including Henrik Ibsen, Peter Høeg, Linn Ullmann and Carl Frode Tiller. Her English-language translation of On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country
Denmark
Original Language
Danish
Author
Publisher
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Chatto & Windus
Translator
Barbara J. Haveland

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