Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is often called 'the Father of Modern Drama'. Born in Norway, he left his homeland in 1864 for a 21-year long voluntary exile in Italy and Germany. After successes with the verse dramas Brand and Peer Gynt, he turned to prose, writing his great 12-play cycle of society dramas between 1877 and 1899. This included A Doll's House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builderand, finally, When We Dead Awaken.