Danish literature, a subset of Scandinavian literature,
stretches back to the Middle Ages. Of special note across the
centuries are the historian Saxo Grammaticus, the playwright
Ludvig Holberg, the storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, the
philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, and Karen Blixen who achieved
worldwide fame with her autobiographical story Out of Africa.
Among today's most successful authors are Leif Davidsen who
writes gripping spy stories with a political extension, Bjarne
Reuter with his intriguing novels for younger readers, Peter
Høeg who gained international fame with Smilla's Sense of Snow
and Jens Christian Grøndahl whose love stories with a
psychological twist include "Silence in October" and "An Altered
Light". In general, the book trade continues to thrive in
Denmark despite recent problems triggered by the current
economic crisis. Middle Ages  The advent of Christianity in the
10th century brought Denmark into contact with European
learning, including the Latin language and alphabet, but it