Rudolf Muus
Encyclopedia
Rudolf Muus was a Norwegian
author, among the best selling and most read authors of popular literature of his time.
The talent for writing was revealed early in Muus’ life. He started writing about the age of six, and at school he was given 50 øre
for each essay he wrote for his classmates. When he was about 7-8 years old, he was the theatre director for Aasen Theater and instructed young actors in little plays he had written himself. At the age of 12, he finished off a book on fairy tales, but it never got published.
In 1881 he completed artium (necessary for acceptance to university level studies) in one year, and after further studies at the University of Oslo
he earned the title of cand. philos.
Muus was married to Olga Erikka Jørgine, whom he had ten children with. His wife was very musical and had performed on Kristiania Theater. Their home became a meeting place for artists and was filled with song and music.
Muus enjoyed outdoor life, and particularly picked up an interest in fishing and picking mushrooms.
It is assumed that Muus wrote about 50 novels, many of them very long. Many of these were crime fiction
characterized by scary persecution scenes and a dose of light romance. In many of his stories, the plot took place in Kristiania (the former name of Oslo
). In spite of varying literary quality in his work, many of Muus’ stories are authentic descriptions of city environments long gone from the present city of Oslo
. In addition he also translated several grand German
and English
novels.
in 1881, under the title “En myr” (“A swamp”). According to Muus this was a “poetic-political idyll”, where he compares certain political conditions with moss
swamps. His first fictional work that was publicly well-known was the comedy “Ole Høiland”, which was written in 1883 and performed the same year at Møllergatens Theater. The following year he wrote the story “Smedens datter”, which was published under the name “R.M”. Later came “Kongemordet i Bergen” and “Svenskene på Norderhov”, under the pseudonym
Rollo. In 1885 he started writing Kristiania novels, the first one being ”Gardistens kjæreste”.
In addition to Kristiania novels Muus later on wrote a lot of crime fiction and stories about rural districts. What perhaps intrigued the author the most, was historical tales. Muus was very much interested in Norwegian
history, and studied the topic throughout his entire life. In connection to his 25th anniversary as a writer, he expressed this by stating that the historical stories “Ravn den fredløse” and “Olaf Trygvessøn” were his favourites in his writing career up till that point. Muus also wrote cookbooks and even a sex education
book under the name “Professor J. Souris”. Throughout his career he wrote under some 40 different names, including Sigmund Tofte, Bjørn Farmann, Gaston Ring, Rolf Ragnvaldsøn, Herman Brage, Spectator, Diogenes, Maximos and Rollo. The pseudonyms was used for different reasons. At one point he wrote for two competing publishers, and to prevent the publishers from finding out, he used the name Wilhelm at one publisher and Julius at the other.
In his books, Muus often let the underclass represent the villains, while the financially strong upper class represents the heroes. Some have claimed that Muus was promoting anti-socialistic propaganda
through his writings, while others think that his life’s work indicates that he had a deep sympathy for the weaker people in society.
Several of his comedies were performed in Arbeidersamfunnet (a labor community), where he often visited as a guest. A few times he even had to step in as an actor when the original cast either got a bit tipsy, or for some other reason could not perform.
Muus’ high productivity can to a big extent be credited to his big family. A normal fee for writers of fiction was about 10-15 Norwegian kroner per 16 page piece, regardless of the size of circulation
. Handing in scripts at a steady pace therefore became a necessity in order to keep food on the table. The majority of the profits from Muus’ books and booklets fell into the hands of the publishing companies. One publisher supposedly made 50-60 thousand Norwegian kroner in one year on Muus’ books alone. Converted into today’s currency value, this number can safely be multiplied by one hundred.
The total production of Muus’ books is difficult to estimate. Due to his fascination with disguises and fake names, Muus operated with many pseudonym
s. Furthermore, an estimate is complicated by the many obscure publishing companies that released his books. It is however raised beyond doubt that he sold in the millions, and at his time he was more read than Henrik Ibsen
. Several of his books also sold very well as translated pirated editions abroad.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
author, among the best selling and most read authors of popular literature of his time.
Biography
Rudolf Muus was born on Ullevål farm. He was the son of Abraham Falch Muus, and his grandfather was Isach Muus, the owner of Åsen and Ullevål farms. Rudolf grew up at Åsen farm, close to the working class districts on Sagene and Torshov.The talent for writing was revealed early in Muus’ life. He started writing about the age of six, and at school he was given 50 øre
Øre
Øre is the centesimal subdivision of the Norwegian and Danish krones. The Faroese division is called the oyra, but is equal in value to the Danish coin. Before their discontinuation, the corresponding divisions of the Swedish krona and the Icelandic króna were the öre and the eyrir...
for each essay he wrote for his classmates. When he was about 7-8 years old, he was the theatre director for Aasen Theater and instructed young actors in little plays he had written himself. At the age of 12, he finished off a book on fairy tales, but it never got published.
In 1881 he completed artium (necessary for acceptance to university level studies) in one year, and after further studies at the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
he earned the title of cand. philos.
Muus was married to Olga Erikka Jørgine, whom he had ten children with. His wife was very musical and had performed on Kristiania Theater. Their home became a meeting place for artists and was filled with song and music.
Muus enjoyed outdoor life, and particularly picked up an interest in fishing and picking mushrooms.
It is assumed that Muus wrote about 50 novels, many of them very long. Many of these were crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
characterized by scary persecution scenes and a dose of light romance. In many of his stories, the plot took place in Kristiania (the former name of Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
). In spite of varying literary quality in his work, many of Muus’ stories are authentic descriptions of city environments long gone from the present city of Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. In addition he also translated several grand German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
novels.
Literary Work
Rudolf Muus’ first published work was printed in MorgenbladetMorgenbladet
Morgenbladet is a Norwegian weekly newspaper. It was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg, and was the country's first daily newspaper. For a long time, it was also the country's biggest newspaper. It was closed down by the German Wehrmacht during World War II...
in 1881, under the title “En myr” (“A swamp”). According to Muus this was a “poetic-political idyll”, where he compares certain political conditions with moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
swamps. His first fictional work that was publicly well-known was the comedy “Ole Høiland”, which was written in 1883 and performed the same year at Møllergatens Theater. The following year he wrote the story “Smedens datter”, which was published under the name “R.M”. Later came “Kongemordet i Bergen” and “Svenskene på Norderhov”, under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Rollo. In 1885 he started writing Kristiania novels, the first one being ”Gardistens kjæreste”.
In addition to Kristiania novels Muus later on wrote a lot of crime fiction and stories about rural districts. What perhaps intrigued the author the most, was historical tales. Muus was very much interested in Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
history, and studied the topic throughout his entire life. In connection to his 25th anniversary as a writer, he expressed this by stating that the historical stories “Ravn den fredløse” and “Olaf Trygvessøn” were his favourites in his writing career up till that point. Muus also wrote cookbooks and even a sex education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
book under the name “Professor J. Souris”. Throughout his career he wrote under some 40 different names, including Sigmund Tofte, Bjørn Farmann, Gaston Ring, Rolf Ragnvaldsøn, Herman Brage, Spectator, Diogenes, Maximos and Rollo. The pseudonyms was used for different reasons. At one point he wrote for two competing publishers, and to prevent the publishers from finding out, he used the name Wilhelm at one publisher and Julius at the other.
In his books, Muus often let the underclass represent the villains, while the financially strong upper class represents the heroes. Some have claimed that Muus was promoting anti-socialistic propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
through his writings, while others think that his life’s work indicates that he had a deep sympathy for the weaker people in society.
Several of his comedies were performed in Arbeidersamfunnet (a labor community), where he often visited as a guest. A few times he even had to step in as an actor when the original cast either got a bit tipsy, or for some other reason could not perform.
Muus’ high productivity can to a big extent be credited to his big family. A normal fee for writers of fiction was about 10-15 Norwegian kroner per 16 page piece, regardless of the size of circulation
Circulation (currency)
The social system in which we live has usually developed to the stage for money to be used as the medium for the exchange of goods and services. Hence the money is an important aspect of the general social or macroeconomics system...
. Handing in scripts at a steady pace therefore became a necessity in order to keep food on the table. The majority of the profits from Muus’ books and booklets fell into the hands of the publishing companies. One publisher supposedly made 50-60 thousand Norwegian kroner in one year on Muus’ books alone. Converted into today’s currency value, this number can safely be multiplied by one hundred.
The total production of Muus’ books is difficult to estimate. Due to his fascination with disguises and fake names, Muus operated with many pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s. Furthermore, an estimate is complicated by the many obscure publishing companies that released his books. It is however raised beyond doubt that he sold in the millions, and at his time he was more read than Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
. Several of his books also sold very well as translated pirated editions abroad.