Halldor Laxness

Halldor was born in 1902 in Reykjavik, where he lived until 1905 when his family moved to Laxnes in Mosfellsdalur near the town of Mosfellsbær about 15 km east-northeast of the capital. At a young age he started to read books and write stories. In the winter of 1915-1916 he attended the technical school in Reykjavik. In 1916 he had an article published in the newspaper Morgunblaðið. His first book, the novel Barn náttúrunnar: ástarsaga (Child of Nature: A Romance), was published in 1919 when Halldor was seventeen years old. By the time of the novel's publication he had already begun his travels on the European continent.