"This highly influential late-19th century Danish novel portrays the melancholy life of an idealistic young poet." --Publishers Weekly "Niels Lyhne recounts the life of its eponymous hero, a poet, emphasizing the influence of experience on psychological development and examining philosophical issues: the nature of reality, atheism, creativity and love. It is a dense narrative, striking at times in its richness of physical detail . . ." --Independent Publisher