Out of Isak Dineson in Africa: Karen Blixen’s Untold Story (1998) is the biography of the author of the book, Out of Africa. It spans from 1913 to 1931.
Baroness Karen von Blixen (1885-1962) was the real name of Danish author Isak Dineson, who used at least three pseudonyms during her professional career. In 1914 she escaped the aftermath of the suicide of her father to join her prospective husband in Kenya, where they established a coffee farm in the Ngong Hills near Nairobi. But she was sick, and illness dogged her whole life. She released Out of Africa in 1938, after she had left Kenya.
Blixen describes Kenya as the happiest period of her life – 17 years out of her life of 77 years. In her book, there are omissions of her true relationships, especially with her husband Baron Blor von Blixen-Finecke (1886-1946), and adventurer Denys Finch Hatton (1887-1931).
Donelson attempts to enrich what readers know of Karen Blixen through her novels, with information from letters, interviews, excerpts from her books, and the historical background to the events in Africa and Denmark. She covers the years well before Blixen’s travel to Kenya, the war years, and the struggles on the farm without Bror, as she tries to untangle the complexities of her relationships with everyone – her brothers, her husband, her husband’s lovers, her farm staff, her doctors, her creditors, and her friends. She also tries to unmask a woman who took great efforts to keep much of her life secret.
The book is chronological, with each year having a separate chapter, from 1913-1931, ending with the death of Denys Finch Hattan in a plane crash.
The interesting chapters – and there are many – are about Denys Finch Hatton and his and her feelings for each other. Described as a Renaissance man, he too was an enigma. There is less of the romantic idealism of the book, Out of Africa, and more of the realities of living peripatetic lives. Other interesting chapters – about halfway into the book – include Blixen’s deepening commitment to writing and painting.
While there is still much speculation about Blixen, this is an engaging biography that is interesting to read, moreso because of the many times I have been to Nairobi, the Ngong Hills, and on the trails of Denys Finch Hatton. Some readers may find the attention to detail tedious – such as whether Denys rolled up the sleeves of his shirt or not, or whether Karin discussed monetary issues with him. Much more has been revealed about Blixen than expected, and therefore it’s a good read, right to the end.
MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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