Johan Nicolai Madvig wrote at a period when the terms of literature itself were being argued over.
The record lists Johan Nicolai Madvig as Danish classical philologist (1804-1886).
Johan Nicolai Madvig was born at Svaneke in 1804. His recorded nationality is Denmark. He was educated at University of Copenhagen and Frederiksborg Gymnasium og HF.
The nineteenth century was the age of the serialised novel and mass literacy; writers reached audiences of a size never seen before.
He worked as linguist, autobiographer and university teacher.
The writing is recorded in Latin and Ancient Greek.
Books outlive their reviews, and the ones that last are seldom the ones that sold best.
That the work was written from Denmark matters: language, censorship and the reach of a publishing industry decide which books travel and which stay local.
Johan Nicolai Madvig died in 1886, aged 82. The books remain, which is the only durable form a writing life takes.
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