Solvej Balle was born in 1962 and made her debut in 1986 with Lyrefugl (Lyrebird.) She went on to write one of the 1990s' most acclaimed works of Danish literature, Ifølge loven (1993) ('According to the Law: Four Accounts of Mankind', translated by Barbara Haveland.) On Calculation of Volume is Solvej Balle's return to literary stardom after nearly 30 years. Barbara J. Haveland (b. 1951) is a Scottish literary translator, resident in Copenhagen. She translates fiction, poetry and drama from Danish and Norwegian to English. She has translated works by many leading Danish and Norwegian writers, both classic and contemporary, including Henrik Ibsen, Peter Hoeg, Linn Ullmann and Carl Frode Tiller.