The era from 1850 to the turn of the century will always be seen as the Golden Age of Norwegian literature. During this period the work of a new generation of writers emerged, starting with the dramas Brand (1866) and Peer Gynt (1867) by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), which positioned national drama in the Norwegian pathos comparable to Goethe’s Faust and Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Ibsen also won international acclaim for a series of plays ranging from Et dukkehjem ('A Doll’s House', 1879) to the more symbolic dramas of Vildanden ('The Wild Duck', 1884) and Naar de døde vågner ('When We Dead Awaken', 1899).

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832-1910), who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1903, was also celebrated for his lyrical poetry works Synnøve solbakken (1857) and Digt og Sange ('Poems and Songs', 1870). Like Ibsen, he turned away from historical drama towards contemporary drama with an emphasis on social realism and a characteristic biting criticism of society.

Other authors who followed in the footsteps of Ibsen and Bjørnson included Jonas Lie (1833-1908) who wrote Familien på Gilje ('The Family at Gilje', 1883), Alexander Kielland (1849-1906) who wrote Garman & worse (1880) and Arne Garborg who wrote Bondestudentar ('Peasant Students'), 1883).