
A varied anthology of turn‑of‑the‑century German prose, this collection gathers intimate sketches of everyday lives and fleeting encounters. The stories move between bustling towns and remote plains, each rendered with a keen eye for atmosphere and a gentle, often lyrical tone. Themes of love, displacement, and the quiet ache of unfulfilled desire surface repeatedly, inviting listeners to linger on the subtle emotions that shape ordinary moments. The tone is both reflective and conversational, making each tale feel like a whispered confession.
The opening vignette places us in a wintry highland, where a crisp dawn paints the snow‑covered fields in muted violet and red. Two riders—an aging countess and a seasoned officer—pause beneath a frosted forest, their silent exchange hinting at decades of shared history and lingering regrets. Their dialogue drifts between memories of youth, the pull of homeland, and the restless yearning that has guided their choices. Listeners are drawn into the delicate tension of what is spoken and what remains unvoiced, a promise of further explorations into longing and the passage of time.
Language
de
Duration
~3 hours (216K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
Germany: J. G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1906.
Credits
The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2021-12-30
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1869–1943
A hugely popular German novelist before World War II, he wrote stories that appealed strongly to middle-class readers and often focused on artists, ambition, and family life. He also worked as a journalist, bringing a brisk, accessible style to his fiction.
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