About the book: 1989 / The volume of selected works by the famous Danish writer, 1944 Nobel Prize winner Johannes W. Jensen (1873–1850) includes one of the best works of the writer — the historical novel “The Fall of the King,” which gives a broad picture of the life of medieval Denmark and sounds a protest against the war; the author tries to realize in the novel the dream of a strong and popular character. The publication also includes stories from the collection “Himmerland Stories” - a picture of the morals and life of the Danish peasantry, individual myths - a special philosophical genre created by the writer. According to the unanimous opinion of researchers, the novel “The Fall of the King” is one of the peaks of the national literature of Denmark. The historical basis of the novel “The Fall of the King” is the events of the late 15th - first half of the 16th centuries. King Christian II (the old form of his name, Kristjern, is retained in the novel) is a very remarkable figure in the history of Scandinavia. His reign was short-lived, only ten years (1513–1523), but very stormy. His main task was to break the resistance of Sweden, which by this time had achieved a certain independence. And he achieved it. In 1519, Christian II won a victory and was crowned King of Sweden in 1520. But the king's triumph was short-lived. The rise of the national liberation movement in Sweden ended in 1523 with its final separation from Denmark, and the rebellion of the Danish and Holstein feudal lords that broke out at the same time forced Christian II to leave the country. The novel “The Fall of the King,” created by Jensen at the beginning of his career, contains experience philosophical understanding of the reasons that led to the fact that Denmark, which once dominated all of Scandinavia, lost its former power.