Niels Krause-Kjær – Political noir at Christiansborg
Intrigue, power struggles and dirty tricks
This month Saga Egmont will release the English audiobook and ebook versions of the bestselling political thriller ‘Solitaire’. The novel had massive success in Denmark and was adapted into the award-winning film “King’s Game” by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Anders W. Berthelsen, Søren Pilmark and Lars Mikkelsen.
In 2000, journalist and present-day TV host Niels Krause-Kjær shocked the whole country when he made his debut as author of an intense new political thriller. Following his time as the press chief for the Danish Conservative Party’s Parliamentary Group, he took to writing a novel that not only presented this fast-paced environment in the highest calibre, but also struck a chord in a fraught political landscape.
The struggle for power in fiction and reality
If you didn’t know any better, ‘Solitaire’ could easily be a true story. Although it is a novel with a fictional plot and fictional characters, it is difficult to refrain from drawing parallels between the plot and political life in Parliament today. This is due to the author’s unique knowledge of political life in Denmark, and his up-close experience with political intrigue and political games.
Looking back on Solitaire 20 years later
When reflecting on the legacy of Solitaire – the author said “It’s funny that Solitaire was and still is perceived as a thriller and a crime novel. I didn’t think about that at all when I wrote it.”
He goes on to explain that “I just wanted to try to tell a story about some of the power mechanisms in politics and what can happen when the chain breaks and sensible people – who have thrown themselves into politics with a good and noble heart – suddenly let go of the brakes and find it difficult to find them again.”
The author highlights the importance of his own experience by saying that “My own background was crucial to the novel. I know the journalistic way of seeing the world because that’s how I am. I’ve been involved in politics all my adult life and then some. The power struggle in the Conservative People’s Party in the late 1990’s scared all involved and the observers.”
The first installment of the Ulrik Torp series is out in audio and ebook versions on the 16th of December 2021.
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