Valdemar Adolph Thisted (28 February 1815 – 14 October 1887) was a Danish writer, translator and priest. He is best-known among English readers for his novel Letters from Hell. He studied theology in Copenhagen and became an assistant professor in Aarhus. In 1855 he began ministering in northern Schleswig. His works include novels, travelogues, romantic dramas and theological polemics. The writings published during his time as a pastor caused a stir because of their critical views on contemporary church issues.
Thisted made his debut in literature with the novel Vandring i Syden (Wandering in the South), published in 1843. The following year he began the first of his travels to Southern Europe. His subsequent works included Havfruen (Little Mermaid, 1846), Tabt og funden (Lost and Won, 1849), Episoder fra et Reiseliv (1850) and Romerske Mosaiker (1851), the fruits of a journey to Italy; the novel Sirenernes Ö (Siren's Island, 1853); the romantic dramas Hittebarnet (1854), Neapolitaniske Aquareller (1853) and Hjemme og paa Vandring (1854); novelistic travel studies Örkenens Hjerte (1849), Bruden (1851) and Digte (1861); and the novel Familieskatten (Family Tax) published in 1856. He published a volume of poems in 1862. His novel Breve fra Helvede (Briefe aus der Hölle), published in Copenhagen in 1866, excited considerable attention. It is his only work to have been translated into English, although a number of his works were translated into German. His work is characterised by a vivid descriptive power and rich fantasy but sometimes suffers from prolixity. Thisted also wrote under the pseudonyms Emanuel St. Hermidad, Herodion and M.Rowel.[1]
Meyers Konversationslexikon. Aufl.Bd,15 [1]