Background
- Cand.Mag. (University of Oslo, 1992)
- Cand.Philol. (University of Oslo, 1994)
- D.Phil. (Oxon, 1998)
- Junior Research Fellow in English Literature, Christ Church, University of Oxford (1996–2001)
- Senior Lecturer in British Civilization, University of Oslo (2001–2003)
- Senior Lecturer in English Literature, University of Oslo (January–September 2003)
- Professor of English Literature, University of Oslo (2003– )
- Director of UiO:Nordic, University of Oslo (2019–2023)
- Director of UiO:Democracy, University of Oslo (2023– )
Areas of teaching and supervision
My main areas of supervision are as follows:
- Victorian literature
- The history of the book and the history of reading
- Reception studies
- Biography and theories of authorship
- Life writing
- Reception of Scandinavian literature in Britain
- World literature
Research interests
- History of the Book
- Reception Studies
- British and Scandinavian nineteenth-century literature
- Charles Dickens
- Henrik Ibsen
- World literature
- Biography/Life writing
- Democracy
Ongoing projects
- New edition of Knut Hamsun's On Overgrown Paths for Oxford World's Classics (with Terence Cave)
- Biography of Max Tau
- Book on illness
- Sigrid Undset in English ('Entering World Literature')
Honours etc
- Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (2013– )
- Christensen Visiting Fellow at St. Catherine's College, Oxford University (2013)
- Visiting Fellow at EHESS, Paris (2023–24)
- Visiting Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford University (2024–25)
- The Critics' Prize for best Norwegian non-fiction book of 2014 for Knut Hamsun: The Journey to Hitler
- Torleif Dahl's prize for literature in 2021
- Choice Outstanding Academic Title for Ibsen in Context (ed. with Narve Fulsås)
- The Critics' Prize for best Norwegian non-fiction book of 2022 for Olav V: Ensom majestet
- HUMSAM prize (Fylkesaker's prize) for outstanding research in the humanities and social sciences from The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 2025