Eduard von Keyserling
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Eduard von Keyserling, count (May 15, 1855 at Schloss Paddern (Paddern castle) near Hasenpoth, today Aizpute, in modern Latvia - September 28, 1918 in Munich), was a German-language fiction writer and dramatist, an exponent of literary Impressionism. He belonged to an ancient family of Baltic-German nobility in what was, until 1918, the Duchy of Kurland, part of the Russian Empire and was a cousin of the philosopher Hermann Keyserling.
His early novels Fräulein Rosa Herz. Eine Kleinstadtliebe (1887) and Die dritte Stiege(1892) were still under the influence of Naturalism. His essays on general and cultural questions, like his theater plays, are forgotten. His narrative, novellas and novels, after 1902, place Keyserling at the forefront of German literary Impressionism.
A subtle and elegant stylist, Keyserling's narrative is unforgettable for its evocative ambience and "feel". His most emblematic work is perhaps Fürstinnen (Princesses), only superficially related to the typical German nineteenth century Schlossroman. Somehow midway between Turgenev and Kafka, there is a certain pessimistic kinship between Keyserling and Chekhov.
[edit] Works
- Fräulein Rosa Herz- Eine Kleinstadtliebe (Ms Pink heart. A town love) (1887)
- Die dritte Stiege (The third staircase) (1892)
- Die schwarze Flasche (1902)
- Beate und Mareille. Eine Schloßgeschichte (1903)
- Schwüle Tage (1904)
- Seine Liebeserfahrung (1906)
- Dumala (1908)
- Bunte Herzen (1909)
- Wellen (1911)
- Abendliche Häuser (1914)
- Im stillen Winkel (1914)
- Nicky (1914)
- Am Südhang (1914/16)
- Fürstinnen (1917)
- Gesammelte Erzählungen, ed. E. Heilborn, 4 Bde., Frankfurt a.M.1971-1973
[edit] Further reading
- Richard A. Koc, The German Gesellschaftsroman at the Turn of the Century. A Comparison of the Works of Theodor Fontane and Eduard von Keyserling; (= EHSchr 1, 542); Bern 1982
- Richard A. Weber, Color and light in the writings of Eduard von Keyserling; (= Studies in modern German literature 39); New York 1990
