author
Karl Leberecht Immermann
1796–1840
A sharp-eyed voice from Germany’s Biedermeier era, he wrote novels and plays that helped bridge Romanticism and a more realistic way of looking at everyday life. Best known today for works such as Die Epigonen, Der Oberhof, and Münchhausen, he brought social satire and village life vividly onto the page.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Magdeburg in 1796, Karl Leberecht Immermann was a German dramatist, novelist, and poet. He studied law at Halle and later worked in the Prussian civil service, eventually living in Düsseldorf, where he also became deeply involved in theater.
Immermann is remembered both for his stage work and for fiction that pointed toward newer directions in German literature. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes the importance of Die Epigonen as an early novel of contemporary society and Der Oberhof as a realistic portrayal of village life; Münchhausen is also among his best-known books.
He died in Düsseldorf in 1840, only 44 years old. Even so, his work left a lasting mark as part of the transition from late Romantic writing toward a more grounded, observant realism.