Theodor Fontane

Theodor Fontane was born in 1819 in Neuruppin, a town northwest of Berlin, into a family descended from French Huguenots. Like his father, he trained as an apothecary, starting at sixteen. In 1843 he joined a Berlin literary club, the Tunnel über der Spree, where he met many leading German writers. Travels to Britain gave him a lifelong love of English ballads, which he imitated. In 1849 he left pharmacy to become a full-time journalist and writer, and in 1850 he married Emilie Rouanet-Kummer. For several years he lived in London as a correspondent. His Walks through the Province of Brandenburg (1862–1882) described the countryside and history of the region around Berlin. In 1870 he became the drama critic of a Berlin newspaper. He published his first novel, Before the Storm, in 1878, when he was 58, and then wrote a series of novels about modern German society, including Trials and Tribulations, Frau Jenny Treibel and Effi Briest (1894–95). His novels are known for their lively conversations and strong female characters. He died in Berlin in 1898.

Theodor Fontane is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: A member of the French Protestant Church of Berlin. Source: Wikipedia