From 1960, Svendsen worked for the Danish broadcasting authority,
Danmarks Radio, first as a programming assistant, later as deputy head of the Drama and Literature Department. From 1965 to 1970, she served as a lecturer at the University of Copenhagen. As a result of her work for Danmarks Radio, in 1962 she published a collection of essays titled
På rejse ind i romanen (A Journey into the Novel) intended as an educational work for adults. From the mid-1970s, Svendsen turned to fiction, publishing
Mathildes drømmebog (Mathilde's Book of Dreams) in 1977. It was printed on paper in two shades, one for the day-to-day routine, the other for dreams and aspirations that gradually disappeared. It fitted nicely into the evolving women's literature of the decade, as did
Dans under frostmånen (Dance under the Frosty Moon, 1979) and
Klovnefisk (Clownfish, 1980), both of which took advantage of the move from inhibition. She went on to write the play
Rosmarin og heksevin (Rosmarin and Witches Wine, 1987) in which a man's dreams of his partner deteriorate into an erotic relationship. In the novel
Under solen (Under the Sun, 1991), the female protagonist murders her lover who is bent on transforming nature into a commercial centre for shopping and entertainment. Her accounts of deteriorating relationships between men and women or their aspirations to escape from everyday routine are repeated in
Kaila på fyret (Kaila at the Lighthouse, 1987) and
Karantæne (Quarantine, 1995). Slightly more positive is her 1996 novel
Rejsen med Emma in which the female narrator recounts a journey to South America on a cargo ship. She wants to sort out a love affair and write a novel based on a dialogue with one of
Henrik Ibsen's plays but the trip is so eventful that the work is never completed. She then wrote two children's books,
Den røde sten (The Red Stone, 1990) and
Spejlsøster (Mirror Sister, 1995). The latter tells us the story of Naja, a little girl who spends the summer with her grandmother in Skagen where she becomes part of the world of the
Skagen Painters, especially the paintings of
Anna and
Michael Ancher and their daughter
Helga. Her next book, the novel
Ingen genvej til Paradis (No Shortcult to Paradise, 1999) describes the evolving relationships between members of a large family which contains has autobiographical connections with Svendsen's family and her upbringing in the north of Jutland. Considerable attention is given to the narrator's feelings for her mother. Set in the 15th century,
Unn fra Stjernestene (2003) is about a girl in
Greenland who is sent to a nunnery where she develops an interest in literature. She gets to know an explorer who travels to the far north of the country but she also shows considerable interest in the local sagas. Like
Guldkuglen, it is one of her most successful novels. Svendsen's most recent novel,
Rudimenter af R (Rudiments of R, 2009), is about a Danish linguist "R" who, lying on his deathbed in Copenhagen, reflects on his past life. It is based on the diaries of
Rasmus Rask (1787–1832) who in his day gained quite a reputation for his language research. ==Awards==