Willibald Alexis, the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of Georg Wilhelm Heinrich Häring (29 June 179816 December 1871), was a German historical novelist, considered part of the

Young Germany Young Germany (german: Junges Deutschland) was a group of German writers which existed from about 1830 to 1850. It was essentially a youth ideology, similar to those that had swept France, Ireland, the United States and Italy. Its main proponents ...

movement.

Life

Alexis was born in Breslau,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. His father, who came of a French refugee family, named Hareng, held a high position in the war department. He attended the Werdersche Gymnasium in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, and then, serving as a volunteer in the campaign of 1815, took part in the siege of the

Ardenne The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

fortresses. On his return, he studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

and the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and entered the legal profession, but he soon abandoned this career and devoted himself to

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. Settling in Berlin, he edited, from 1827 to 1835, the ''Berliner Konversationsblatt'', in which for the first two years he was assisted by Friedrich Christoph Forster (1791–1868); and in 1828 was created a doctor of philosophy by the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

. In 1852 he retired to Arnstadt in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

, where after many years of broken health he died.

Works

Having made his name first known as a writer by an idyll in

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

s, ''Die Treibjagd'' (1820), and several short stories, his literary reputation was first established by the historical novel ''Walladmor'' (1823), which was published as being "freely translated from the English of Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

, with a preface by Willibald Alexis". The work became immediately popular and was translated into several languages, including English. It was followed by ''Schloss Avalon'' (1827), in which the author adopted the same tactics and with equal success. Soon afterwards, Alexis published a number of successful short stories (''Gesammelte Novellen'', 4 vols., 1830–1831), some books of travel, and in the novels ''Das Haus Dusterweg'' (1835) and ''Zwölf Nächte'' (1838) showed for a while a leaning towards the "Young German" school. In ''Cabanis'' (1832), however, a story of the time of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

, he entered the field of patriotic-historical romance, in which he earned the name of "der Märkische Walter Scott" (Walter Scott of the Mark). From 1840 onwards he published at short intervals a series of romances, each dealing with some epoch in the history of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

. His novel ''

Der Werwulf Willibald Alexis, the pseudonym of Georg Wilhelm Heinrich Häring (29 June 179816 December 1871), was a German historical novelist, considered part of the Young Germany movement. Life Alexis was born in Breslau, Silesia. His father, who cam ...

'' is set at the time of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

. In 1840 his historical novel ''

Der Roland von Berlin ''Der Roland von Berlin'' is a historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fict ...

'' was published. It was the basis for

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera '' Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained h ...

's opera of the same name. This was followed by ''Der falsche Woldemar'' (1842), ''Die Hosen des Herrn von Bredow'' (1846–1848), ''Ruhe ist die reste Bürgerpflicht'' (1852), ''Isegrimm'' (1854), and ''Dorothe'' (1856). Alexis also made a name for himself in the field of criminology by commencing in 1842, in conjunction with the publicist

Julius Eduard Hitzig Julius Eduard Hitzig (born ''Isaac Elias Itzig''; 26 March 1780 in Berlin – 26 November 1849 in Berlin) was a German author and civil servant. Born into the wealthy and influential Jewish Itzig family, he was between 1799 and 1806 a Prussian ...

(1780–1849), the publication of ''Der neue Pitaval'' (36 vols., Leipzig, 1842–1865; newer edition, 24 vols., Leipzig, 1866–1891), a collection of criminal anecdotes culled from all nations and all times.

References

Attribution: *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexis, Willibald 1798 births 1871 deaths Writers from Wrocław Writers from the Province of Silesia German historical novelists German poets Biedermeier writers German military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars German male poets German male novelists 19th-century poets 19th-century German novelists