''Irretrievable'' (german: Unwiederbringlich,

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies f ...

, also known as ''Beyond Recall'' and ''No Way Back'' ) is one of realist

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known tod ...

's mature German

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s. As with some other of Fontane's novels (including Effi Briest), its heroine is believed to be based roughly on a real person whose demise Fontane heard about, and it deals delicately with topics that, at the time it was written, were close to being taboo, including adultery and suicide. The novel has been translated into English twice. The first translation, by

Douglas Parmée Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

, was published in 1963 as ''Beyond Recall'' and republished in 2011 by

New York Review of Books New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

as ''Irretrievable''. In 2010 a new English translation, ''No Way Back'', was published by Angel Classics (London). There is a German T
movie
based on the novel, directed by

Falk Harnack Falk Harnack (2 March 1913 – 3 September 1991) was a German director and screenwriter. During Germany's Nazi era, he was also active with the German Resistance and toward the end of World War II, the partisans in Greece. Harnack was from a fami ...

and first broadcast in 1968.

Plot summary

The novel takes place in

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label= Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germ ...

in the years 1859–1861, five years before the

German-Danish War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

, at a time when Holstein was governed by Denmark. Count Helmuth Holk lives with his countess Christine and their two children in a lonely valley. Christine, who was raised by nuns, is serious and pious, but Holk is fun-loving by nature. When Holk is called away to the court of a Danish princess in Copenhagen he becomes fascinated by Ebba von Rosenberg, a young companion of the princess who flirts with him. His marriage with Christine begins to seem unbearably dull and he rashly seeks a divorce before realizing that Ebba's attentions are not serious. A long separation between Holk and Christine ends only after several years and great efforts by their friends. On the surface all seems well, but Christine is haunted by the rejection and drowns herself in the sea.

Editions

The novel was serialized in the ''

Deutsche Rundschau ''Deutsche Rundschau'' is a literary and political periodical established in 1874 by Julius Rodenberg. It strongly influenced German politics, literature and culture was considered one of the most successful launches of periodicals in Germany. Am ...

'' (Nr. 66/67, January and June 1891), then published as a book by Verlag Wilhelm Hertz of Berlin in 1892.

Adaptations

* Radio play with Paul Edwin Roth, Rosemarie Gerstenberg, Christine Schoenfelder, Martin Hirthe and Edith Heerdegen, treatment: Palma, direction: Ulrich Lauterbach, Hessische Rundfunk 1957. * TV film with

Lothar Blumhagen Lothar Blumhagen (16 July 1927 – 10 January 2023) was a German actor, especially known as a voice actor. He began as a stage actor, in ensembles in East Berlin and West Berlin. He was often the German voice of British gentleman characters, s ...

, Hans Timmermann,

Alexander Kerst Alexander Kerst (23 February 1924 – 9 December 2010) was an Austrian television actor. He was born in Kralupy nad Vltavou, Czechoslovakia and died in Munich, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a c ...

Tilo von Berlepsch Tilo von Berlepsch (30 December 1913 – 8 April 1991) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 90 films and television shows between 1949 and 1977. He came from the Berlepsch family and was a grandson of the ornithologist Hans Hermann C ...

Walter Buschhoff Walter Buschhoff (1923–2010) was a German stage, film and television actor.Goble p.462 He was married to the actress Maria Körber. Selected filmography * ''IA in Oberbayern'' (1956) - Dr. Hans von Spörling * ''Heiße Ernte'' (1956) - Oskar ...

Karin Hübner Karin Hübner (, 16 September 1936 – 25 July 2006) was a German stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in more than forty films from 1955 to 1977. Her name is sometimes given as Karin Huebner. Hübner was born in Gera in Thuringia a ...

Lil Dagover Lil Dagover (; born Marie Antonia Siegelinde Martha Seubert; 30 September 1887 – 23 January 1980) was a German actress whose film career spanned between 1913 and 1979. She was one of the most popular and recognized film actresses in the Weimar ...

and

Käthe Braun Käthe Braun (11 November 1913 – 9 September 1994) was a German stage and film actress. She was married to director Falk Harnack and acted in several of his films. Career Katharina Braun was born in Wasserburg am Inn. After studying act ...

, script by Max Gundermann and Falk Harnack, directed by

, Berliner-Union-Film, West Germany 1968 * Audio book read by

Gert Westphal Curt Gerhard Westphal, stage name Gert Westphal, (5 October 1920 – 10 November 2002) was a German-Swiss actor, audiobook narrator, recitator and director, one of the best-known audiobook narrators and speakers in German, described as "König der ...

, 8 CDs, Deutsche Grammophon,

Translations into English

* ''Beyond Recall'', translated by

, published 1963; republished by

as ''Irretrievable'', with a new foreword, in 2011 * ''No Way Back'', translated by Hugh Rorrison and Helen Chambers, London: Angel Classics, September 2010

External links

''Unwiederbringlich, Kapitel 1'', chapter 1 of Unwiederbringlich
(German) * German page on Unwiederbringlich (German) {{Authority control 1892 German novels Novels by Theodor Fontane Novels set in Germany