Denmark's first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature (1917) succeeded more than almost anyone else in capturing the social upheavals of his time in literature. Henrik Pontoppidan (1857-1943), the son of a pastor, grew up in an environment that made him realise early on the contrasts between tradition and progress. In his epic works - above all the trilogy of novels A Happy Man and The Promised Land - he portrayed Danish society with a sharp eye, caught between rural narrowness, industrial awakening and political emancipation. His protagonists struggle for self-determination as they struggle with ideals and reality. Pontoppidan's sober narrative art makes him one of the most important realists in literature.