Heinesen was not content with writing only novels. In the fifties he began writing short stories as well. Most of them have been printed in these three collections entitled "The Enchanted Light", "Gamaliel's Bewitchment" and "Cure Against Evil Spirits" (1969). In the novel "The Good Hope", his main character the Rev. Peder Børresen is based on the historical person Rev. Lucas Debes. When Heinesen was asked how long it had taken to write it, he answered "Forty years. But then I did other things in between."