Gustav Heinrich Gans Edler Herr zu Putlitz (20 March 1821 – 5 September 1890) was a German author.

Biography

He was born at Retzin near

Perleberg Perleberg (; North Margravian: ''Perlberg'') is the capital of the district of Prignitz, located in the northwest of the German state of Brandenburg. The town received city rights in 1239 and today has about 12,000 inhabitants. Located in a mos ...

in West

Prignitz Prignitz () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from the north clockwise) the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, t ...

, of the noble

Gans zu Putlitz The Gans Edle Herren zu Putlitz (Edle Herren = noble lords, until 1919 a title, it became a part of the official surname with the transformation of most noble titles into surname elements to be ignored at alphanumerical sorting) is a German nobl ...

family. He studied law at

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, and was attached to the provincial government at

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label= Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Mag ...

from 1846–1848. In 1853 he married

Gräfin (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "co ...

Elisabeth von Königsmark, and lived on his estate. In 1863, he became director of the Court Theatre at

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. ...

. This post he left in 1867, was for a short time chamberlain to the crown prince of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, afterwards the Emperor Frederick III, and from 1873 to 1889 successfully directed the Court theatre at

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the German States of Germany, state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital o ...

. He died at Retzien.

Works

Putlitz made his debut as a writer with a volume of romantic fairy stories in verse, ''Was sich der Wald erzählt'' (Tales told among the woods; 1850), which attained great popularity (fifty editions) and found many imitators. He was most successful in his comedies, notably ''Badekuren'' (Spa cures; 1859), much read in the schools of the United States; ''Das Herz vergessen'' (Forgetting the heart; 1853), also much read in U.S. schools; and ''Spielt nicht mit dem Feuer!'' (Don't play with fire!; 1887). These portrayed life among the

upper classes Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is g ...

. Two notable dramas are ''Das Testament des Grossen Kurfürsten'' (1858) and ''Rolf Berndt'' (1881). Of his novels, ''Die Alpenbraut'' (Bride of the Alps; 1870) and ''Walpurgis'' (1870) are distinguished by refined terseness of style and delicacy of portraiture. Also notable are ''Vergissmeinnicht'' (Forget me not; 1851), ''Brandenburgher Geschichten'' (Brandenburg Tales; 1862), ''Novellen'' (1863), and ''Funken unter der Asche'' (Sparks under the ashes; 1871).

Editions

A selection of his works, ''Ausgewählte Werke'', was published in six volumes in Berlin (1872–1877), and a supplementary volume in 1888; his comedies, ''Lustspiele'', appeared in two series of four volumes each (1851–1860 and 1869–1872).

Notes

References

* * ;Attribution * This work in turn cites Elisabeth zu Putlitz, ''Gustav zu Putlitz, Ein Lebensbild aus Briefen'' (Gustav zu Putlitz, a life sketch from letters; 3 vols., Berlin, 1894–1895).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Putlitz, Gustav zu 1821 births 1890 deaths Edlers of Germany Members of the Prussian House of Lords German poets People from the Province of Brandenburg Heidelberg University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German male poets German male novelists German male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German poets 19th-century German novelists 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers de:Gans zu Putlitz#Karlsruhe: Gustav zu Putlitz