Willibald Alexis, the

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

of Georg Wilhelm Heinrich Häring (29 June 179816 December 1871), was a German

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

ist, considered part of the Young Germany movement.

Life

Alexis was born in Breslau,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. 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 of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and then, serving as a volunteer in the campaign of 1815, took part in the siege of the Ardenne 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, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

and the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

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

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. 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 Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

by the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

. In 1852 he retired to

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera (river), Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, where after many years of broken health he died.

Works

Having made his name first known as a writer by an

idyll An idyll (, ; ; occasionally spelled ''idyl'' in American English) is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus's short pastoral poems, the ''Idylls'' (Εἰδύλλια). Unlike Homer, Theocritus did not engag ...

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 as well as in Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of s ...

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 and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

, 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 (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

, 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, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. His novel '' Der Werwulf'' is set at the time of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. In 1840 his historical novel '' Der Roland von Berlin'' 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. Throughout his career, Leoncavallo produced numerous operas and songs but it is his 1892 opera ''Pagliacci'' that remained his lasting co ...

'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 Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

by commencing in 1842, in conjunction with the publicist

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

(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 Biedermeier writers German military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars German male poets German male novelists 19th-century German poets 19th-century German novelists Poets from the Kingdom of Prussia Novelists from the Kingdom of Prussia