Barbara

Originally written in Danish, Barbara was the only novel written by the Faroese author Jorgen-Frantz Jacobsen (1900-38). On the face of it, Barbara is a straightforward historical romance: it contains a story of passion in an exotic setting with overtones of semi-piracy; there is a powerful erotic element, an outsider who breaks up a marriage, and a built-in inevitability resulting from Barbara's own psychological make-up. She stands as one of the most complex female characters in modem Scandinavian literature: beautiful, passionate, devoted, amoral, and uncomprehending of her own tragedy. Jorgen-Frantz Jacobsen portrays her with fascinated devotion.