Paul Heyse

Born in Berlin in 1830, Paul Heyse became a major figure in German literary life as a poet, dramatist, novelist, short-story writer, and translator. He studied classical philology and was closely connected with important literary circles in both Berlin and Munich, where much of his later career unfolded.

Heyse was remarkably prolific, producing poems, plays, novels, and a large body of novellas and short fiction. He also translated works from several languages, and his interest in southern European literature helped shape the cosmopolitan feel of much of his writing.

In 1910 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature, honored for the artistry and idealism of his long career. Although his reputation is not as broad today as it was during his lifetime, he remains an important name in 19th-century German literature and in the history of the literary novella.