It is difficult to assign to Gustav Freytag his exact niche in the hall of frame, because of his many – sidedness. He wrote one novel of which the statements has been made by an eminent French critic that no book in the German language, with the exception of the Bible, has enjoyed in its day so wide a circulation; he wrote one comedy which fro years was more frequently played than any other on the German stage; he wrote a series of historical sketches- Pictures of the German Past he calls them – which hold a unique place in German Literature, being as charming in styles as they are sound in scholarship. Add to these a work on the principles of dramatic critics that is referred to with respect by the very latest writers on the subject, an important biography, second very successful novel, and a series of six historical romances that vary in interest, indeed, but that are a noble monument to his own nation and that, alone, would have made him famous. It is in his famous comedy, The Journalists, which appeared in 1853, that Freytag displays his humor to its best advantage. GUSTAV FREYTAG. “The Life of Gustav Freytag.” “The Journalists.” “Doctor Luther.” “Frederick The Great.” Trails and Tribulations (1887) and Stine (1890) were the first German novels absolutely to avoid the introduction of exciting scenes merely for effect. These histories of mismated couples from different social strata are recounted with hearty simplicity, deep understanding of life, and frank recognition of human weakness, but without condemnation, tears, or pointing a moral. They made Fontane famous. Frau jenny Treibel (1892), an exquisitely humorous picture of the Berlin bourgeoisie, and Effi Briest. “The most profound miracles of Fontane’s youthful art, “ added considerably to the fame of the gray-haired “modern” while The Poggenpuhls (1896) and Stechlin (1898) won him further laurels at a time when most writers would long ago have been resting on those they had already achieved. If a line were drawn to represent graphically his productivity from his sixtieth year on, it would take the form of a gradually rising curve. THEODOR FONTANE. “The Life of Theodor Fontane.” “Effi Briest.” “Extracts from My Childhood Days.” “Sir Ribbeck of Ribbeck.” “The Bridge by the Tay.” Keywords: The German Classics Volume 12, Theodor Fontane, Gustav Freytag, Journalist, Great, Effi Briest, Days, Sir, Ribbeck, Famous, curve, Trails,

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