Wilhelm Raabe
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Wilhelm Raabe (; September 8, 1831November 15, 1910) was a German
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
. His early works were published under the pseudonym of Jakob Corvinus.


Biography

He was born in Eschershausen (then in the
Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...
, now in the
Holzminden Holzminden (; ) is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden (district), Holzminden. It is located on the river Weser, which at this point forms the border with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...
District). After attending gymnasia in Holzminden and
Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...
, he entered a bookstore in
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
as apprentice in 1849. He used this opportunity for wide reading and enriched himself with the tales and folklore of his own and other countries. He remained an apprentice until 1854. Tiring of the routine of business, he then studied
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 ...
at
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 ...
(1855–1857). While a student at that university, under his pseudonym he published his first work, '' The Chronicle of Sparrow Lane (1857)'' (German: ''Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse''). This book, which contains sketches of life among the German bourgeoisie, quickly became popular. With this encouragement, Raabe gave up his studies and devoted himself entirely to literary work. He returned to
Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...
, and then lived (1862–1870) in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
. Then he again returned to Brunswick and remained active until the end of the century, publishing upwards of 30 novels and a number of short stories and sketches. He died in 1910 and was buried in
Braunschweig Main Cemetery The Braunschweig Main Cemetery () on Helmstedter street is a historic, church-owned and operated Lutheran cemetery located in the city of Braunschweig, in Germany. With a land area of approximately 43 ha, it is the second largest church-owned Chri ...
.


Work

Raabe's life work may be divided into three periods. During the first, he wrote with a light touch, producing a series of pictures of German life from the abundance of his imagination and experience, among which are: * ''Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse'' (1856) * ''Die Kinder von Finkenrode'' (1859) * ''Unser Herrgotts Kanzlei'' (1862) The influence of the pessimism of
Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( ; ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is known for his 1818 work '' The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the manife ...
is evident during the second period. Representative works of this period are: * ''Der Hungerpastor'' (1864) * ''Abu Telfan'' (1867) * ''Der Schüdderump'' (1870) These three works are sometimes referred to as a trilogy. While they are independent of each other in substance, they do represent a distinct epoch in the life of Raabe. During the third period of the novelist's life his works no longer show this pessimistic strain. A genial humor pervades them, reminiscent of
Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...
, though they frequently deal with serious subjects. ''Horacker'' (1876) perhaps best represents this tendency, and has been cited as his masterpiece. ''Der Dräumling'' (1872), and ''Deutscher Mondschein'' (1873), also come under this head. Of his numerous later works ''Das Odfeld'' (1889) and ''Die Akten des Vogelsangs'' (1895) seemed to be most read. ''Kloster Lugau'' (1894) and ''Hastenbeck'' (1899) also belong to this period. Raabe's early works were influenced to some extent by
Jean Paul Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romanticism, German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories. Life and work Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Ficht ...
. Later he shows evidences of having read Dickens and Thackeray. His estimation by the German people was especially shown at the celebration of his 70th birthday in 1901. Beginning in 1965, the critical edition of Raabe's complete works was published as ''Sämtliche Werke'' (Braunschweiger Ausgabe) commissioned by the Braunschweigischen Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft and edited by Karl Hoppe.


Works

* ''Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse'', 1856 *''Ein Frühling, Der Weg zum Lachen'', 1857 *''Die alte Universität, Der Student von Wittenberg, Weihnachtsgeister, Lorenz Scheibenhart, Einer aus der Menge'', 1858 *''Die Kinder von Finkenrode, Der Junker von Denow, Wer kann es wenden?'' 1859 *''Aus dem Lebensbuch des Schulmeisterleins Michel Haas, Ein Geheimnis'', 1860 *''Auf dunkelm Grunde, Die schwarze Galeere, Der heilige Born, Nach dem großen Kriege'', 1861 *''Unseres Herrgotts Kanzlei, Das letzte Recht'', 1862 *''Eine Grabrede aus dem Jahre 1609, Die Leute aus dem Walde, Holunderblüte, Die Hämelschen Kinder'', 1863 *''Der Hungerpastor, Keltische Knochen'', 1864 *''Else von der Tanne, Drei Federn'', 1865 *''Die Gänse von Bützow, Sankt Thomas, Gedelöcke'', 1866 *''Abu Telfan; oder Heimkehr aus dem Mondgebirge'', 1867 *''Theklas Erbschaft'', 1868 *''Im Siegeskranze'', 1869 *''Der Schüdderump, Der Marsch nach Hause, Des Reiches Krone'', 1870 *''Der Dräumling'', 1872 *''Deutscher Mondschein, Christoph Pechlin'', 1873 *''Meister Autor oder Die Geschichten vom versunkenen Garten, Höxter und Corvey'', 1874 *''Frau Salome, Vom alten Proteus, Eulenpfingsten'', 1875 *''Die Innerste, Der gute Tag, Horacker'', 1876 *''Auf dem Altenteil'', 1878 *''Alte Nester, Wunnigel'', 1879 *''Deutscher Adel'', 1880 *''Das Horn von Wanza'', 1881 *''Fabian und Sebastian'', 1882 *''Prinzessin Fisch'', 1883 *''Villa Schönow, Pfisters Mühle, Zum wilden Mann, Ein Besuch'', 1884 *''Unruhige Gäste'', 1885 *''Im alten Eisen'', 1887 *''Das Odfeld'', 1888 *''Der Lar'', 1889 *''Stopfkuchen'', 1891 *''Gutmanns Reisen'', 1892 *''Kloster Lugau'', 1894 *''Die Akten des Vogelsangs'', 1896 *''Hastenbeck'', 1899 *''Altershausen'' (fragment, 1902; published 1911)


Raabe the painter

Raabe also had a less known talent for painting.Hans-Werner Peter, ''Wilhelm Raabe. Der Dichter in seinen Federzeichnungen und Skizzen'', Rosenheimer Raritäten Approximately 600 of his works exist, partially in private ownership of his descendants or with the Braunschweig Museum.


Notes


External links

*
Works by Raabe
at Projekt Gutenberg-DE * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raabe, Wilhelm 1831 births 1910 deaths 19th-century German novelists People from Holzminden (district) People from the Duchy of Brunswick German male novelists 19th-century German male writers