Theodor Fontane

Theodor Fontane was born in Neuruppin, Prussia, in 1819. After a career as a pharmacist, he turned to journalism and travel writing, gaining recognition for his ballads and accounts of the Prussian wars. His major novels, written in his later years, include Effi Briest, Frau Jenny Treibel, and Der Stechlin. Fontane's work is marked by precise observation of social mores, ironic wit, and a deep sympathy for his characters, especially women constrained by convention. He is considered the master of German poetic realism, bridging the 19th-century novel and the modern psychological novel. His influence extends to Thomas Mann and later German literature. Fontane died in Berlin in 1898.