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A History of Danish Literature (Histories of Scandinavian Literature)

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This is one of the entries in the History of Scandinavian Literatures series which were, I believe, all published in the late 1990's.

Well-written and comprehensive, this can serve as a reference book or be consumed for its narrative content. I'm impressed by the breadth and depth on display here: 709 pp with a 23 p bibliography, a 50 p index, and maps.

As far as approach goes, here's some dustjacket blurbage...

"For centuries, Denmark dominated the culture of Scandinavia, and its literature has influenced such English works as Beowulf and Hamlet as well as major philosophical movements: humanism, romanticism, existentialism. With contributions from nine internationally recognized scholars, A History of Danish Literature reaches back as far as the literary record allows, to the ancient runic inscriptions, and thence to medieval Latin, the development of literature in the vernacular, and the flowering of a distinct Danish literary tradition numbering among its luminaries Hans Christian Andersen, Soren Kierkegaard, and Karen Blixen."

"The approach used in A History of Danish Literature is maintained in the other volumes of A History of Scandinavian Literatures, which surveys the literary history of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland. These literatures are viewed not only as part of an interrelated Scandinavian tradition but as part of world literature. A comparative approach is used through-out, and social and cultural history feature prominently."

TABLE OF CONTENTS HIGHLIGHTS
The Middle Ages (David W. Colbert)
From the Reformation to the Baroque (F.J. Billeskow Jansen)
The Age of Enlightenment (P.M. Mitchell)
From Romanticism to Realism (Sven H. Rossell)
The Modern Breakthrough (Niels Ingwersen)
Between the World Wars (Sven H. Rossel, Niels Ingwersen)
Danish Literature 1940-1990
Faroese Literature (W. Glyn Jones)
Danish and Faroese Women Writers (Faith Ingwersen)
Children's Literature (Flemming Mouritsen)