In Growth of the Soil, we follow Isak, a man without a last name, without a history, as he settles the untamed wilderness of the far North. Beginning with nothing but a few tools, he slowly gains a foothold in the vast solitude, carving out first a homestead, then a household, and a legacy.

This is the tale of man and his connection to the soil, each nourishing the other. For the “Miltonic, monumental calm” of his acknowledged masterpiece, Knut Hamsun was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. The Imperium Press edition of this classic includes articles by Hamsun written around the time of Growth of the Soil which expand on his ideas of ruralism, anti-modernism, and the primal beauty of the North.