Sophie's World, an international bestseller that has been translated into more than 50 languages, was written by Jostein Gaarder. In 1952, he was born in Oslo, Norway. He taught high school philosophy for several years before publishing a collection of short stories in 1986 and his first two novels, The Solitaire Mystery and Sophie's World, shortly thereafter, as well as several others since then. He and his family reside in Oslo.