Isak Dinesen
Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke Karen Blixen, 1959. Photo: Carl Van Vechten Born 17 April 1885 Rungsted, Denmark Died 7 September 1962(1962-09-07) (aged 77) Rungsted, Denmark Occupation Writer Notable works Out of Africa, Seven Gothic Tales, Shadows on the Grass, "Babette's Feast" Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke (Danish: [kʰɑːɑn ˈb leɡ sn ]; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962), née Karen Christenze Dinesen, was a Danish author also known by her pen name Isak Dinesen. She also wrote under the pen names Tania Blixen, Osceola and Pierre Andrézel. Blixen wrote works in Danish, French and English. Blixen is best known for Out of Africa, her account of living in Kenya, and one of her stories, Babette's Feast, both of which have been adapted into highly acclaimed, Academy Award-winning motion pictures. Prior to the release of the first film, she was noted for her Seven Gothic Tales, for which she is also known in Denmark. Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, described it as "a mistake" that Blixen was not awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature during the 1930s. Although never awarded the prize, she finished in third place behind Graham Greene in 1961, the year Ivo Andrić was awarded the prize.