Volume 45, Number 11 · June 25, 1998
The Charms of Theodore Fontane
By Gabriele Annan
Theodor Fontane: Literature and History in the Bismarck Reich
by Gordon A. Craig
Uber Fontane, Munich: C.H. Beck, 294 pp., DM38.00 (to be published in English by Oxford University Press in 1999)
Two elderly gentlemen look out benignly from the dust jacket of the German edition of Gordon A. Craig's critical biography of Fontane. Both wear bow ties, moustaches, and mutton-chop whiskers. One is Theodor Fontane, the German writer who lived from 1819 to 1889. The other is Craig himself, Emeritus Professor of History at Stanford University. They could be brothers, and I think the impression is intentional. A sense of affectionate affinity with his subject emanates from Professor Craig's book and explains its peculiar charm. Charm, incidentally, was Fontane's outstanding characteristic, both as a man and as a writer. It wasn't glittery charm—though he could be very funny and even witty in a Wildean way—but charm springing from a laid-back sweetness and goodness.
Review, 4805 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |