Grímur Thomsen had one of the most unusual careers of nineteenth-century Icelandic writers. The entire reception history of his work is marked by how late he emerged as a fully formed poet. Not until near the end of his life did he publish the book that indisputably placed him among the most important poets of his generation. By that time his verse was to some extent out of step with the age, rooted in Romanticism, which many Icelandic intellectuals had already declared obsolete. Much of Grímur's verse was not published until ten years after his death. During his lifetime he was probably best known in Iceland for his work in the Danish foreign service and in the Icelandic parliament. His long career as a literary critic and essayist in Danish appears not to have made a great impression on his compatriots. After his own...