| Poison | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Alexander Kielland |
| Original title | Gift |
| Country | Norway |
| Language | Norwegian |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Gyldendal |
| Publication date | 1883 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Followed by | Fortuna |
Poison (original Norwegian title: Gift) is an 1883 novel by the Norwegian writer Alexander Kielland. The novel is the first in a trilogy including Fortuna (1884) and St. Hans Fest (1887).
This famous novel is an attack on the Norwegian education system, particularly on the obsession with Latin. A schoolboy, Marius, is tormented throughout the first half of the novel by his scholastic inability, and during his final illness continues to murmur rote phrases, his last words being Mensa rotunda.
The main character of the book is Marius's friend Abraham Løvdahl, the son of a respected professor. His mother Wenche is an idealist who struggles in vain to keep her son honest and upright; she takes her own life after falling pregnant to the businessman Michal Mordtmann.