Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit." Bjørnson is the author of the lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet".

Sir Edmund William Gosse CB was an English poet, author and critic, now primarily remembered for his classic memoir, Father and Son (1907), detailing his difficult childhood in a religiously fanatical home. An important and influential critic in his day, Gosse as a critic, essayist and correspondent is still very much worth reading today.