Victor von Falk

Born as Hans Heinrich Sochaczewski in Breslau in 1861, the writer published under a number of names, including Victor von Falk, Harry Scheff, and H. H. Schefsky. He worked as a journalist and author, and his books were part of the lively world of popular serialized fiction in German-speaking Europe.

Victor von Falk is especially associated with Kolportageromane—dramatic, suspenseful novels sold in installments to a mass audience. That kind of writing prized cliffhangers, strong emotions, crime, adventure, and big historical or exotic settings, which helps explain the energetic flavor readers still notice in his work today.

From the late 1890s he lived in Vienna, and he remained active there until his death in 1922. Though not always remembered alongside more canonical literary figures, he represents an important side of literary history: the commercial, page-turning fiction that entertained huge numbers of readers in its own time.