This volume is devoted, in the main, to three of the most prominent Austrian dramatists and novelists: Anzengruber, Rosegger, and Schonherr, writers connected with each other through their intimate knowledge and loving portrayal of popular life. That these writers, as a group, show a close affinity to such painters as Defregger, Leibl, and Thoma, some of whose works are here reproduced for illustration seems obvious. Adolf Wilbrandt, whose Masters of Palmyra opens this volume, was a writer of an entirely different stamp. His inclusion here is justified by the fact that his management of the Vienna Burg Theatre has formed and epoch in the history of the Austrian stage. The kinship of the art with that of painters like Henneburg and Spangenberg is apparent. Some doubt exists as to whether on the whole Adolf Wilbrandt is greater as a novelist or as a playwright, but on one point all critics are clear; namely, that The Master of Palmyra is not only his masterpiece but is one of the best plays of its generation in German literature. In all his works Wilbrandt rather creates a new, ideal life than imitates the life about him, and in The Master of Palmyra this is particularly true. The Setting in the “queen city of the desert” prepares the reader for a romantic development. The time, too, the days when the Roman Empire was fluctuating between Christianity and the ancient gods, is sufficiently remote and alluring. As models the poet had the fanciful plays of Raimund and Grillparzer, and such works of Hebbel as Gyges and his Ring, but he surpassed his predecessors in breadth of design and consistency of detail. It is hardly being too bold to say that since Faust, The Master of Palmyra is the greatest imaginative play in German literature. ADOLF WILBRANDT (Pages 1-99) “The Life of Adolf Wilbrandt.” “The Master of Palmyra.” LUDWIG ANZENGRUBER (Pages 100-187) “The Life of Ludwig Anzengruber.” “The Forest Schoolmaster.” “Selections from “Forest Home.” Rosegger’s literary ideals and methods are in sharp contrast with the crass naturalism of many of his contemporaries. Though always profoundly ethical and purposeful, he cannot be classed with the Tendenzschriftsteller. The artist and psychologist in him will not give way to the moralist or the preacher. “Without haste and without rest” he delves into the worth of human endeavor and discovers and evaluates it, wherever and in whatever guise it may appear. His writings are characterized by naïve simplicity, by a clear insight into motives and actions, by a firm grip on the elemental realities, whether in nature or man. He has a sure and sympatric touch when he gives form and substance to his memories, his observations and experiences. Whenever we put ourselves in touch with Peter Rosegger, whether in his life or his literary labors, we are impressed by his health of soul, his “sweet reasonableness,” his singleness of purpose, and his large faith in Man and Nature and God. PERTER ROSEGGER(Pages 189-409) “The Life of Peter Rosegger.” “The Forest Schoolmaster.” “Selections from “Forest Home.” The longing of the country folk for a homestead and their determination to hold it after it his once been won, furnish Schonherr with one of the great contending forces in his” tragedy of a people, “ Faith and Fireside. By showing his characters in the frightful necessity of having to choose between their love of home and their attachment to religious creed, Schonherr has, with good reason, avoided idealizing this love of home, and shows it in its primitive materialism; he was succeeded incidentally thereby in deepening the conflict to one of general human significance, and making it the conflict between man’s love for material possessions and his desire to reach out into the Great Unknown. It is this feature, after all, which has given to Faith and Fireside such an important position it permanent value. Schonherr came first to be unknown to the public at large by this play, which is rightly considered his masterpiece, although the critical reader will not fail to observe that Mother Earth surpassed it in the clear outlines of its characters and in the purity of its style. KARL SCHONHERR(Pages 410-480) “The Life of Karl Schonherr.” “Faith and Fireside.” Keyworks: The German Classics Vol. 16, Austrian, dramatists, Anzengruber, Rosegger, Schonherr, Masters of Palmyra, Henneburg, Spangenberg, literature, Faith, Fireside,

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