[Gutenberg 6650] • Immensee

The nineteenth century was a period of great literary and artistic activity in Germany. It was a period which ushered in the great narrative prose which was to find its ultimate expression in the monumental *Bildungsromane* of the era. The three novellas contained in this volume are representative examples, masterpieces in their own right, of this literary evolution.

**Immensee** is a romantic, even sentimental tale of an old man reminiscing about his youth and unfulfilled love. Despite this inherent sentimentality it is strangely moving, evoking a reality which is veiled and haunted by dreams and illusion.

**Lenz** is a fragment, the only known story by Georg Büchner, who is perhaps best known for his powerful play *Danton's Death*. It is an agonised story of a man caught between the forces of good and evil, a man without definite purpose, who is pushed into madness. In it Büchner combined an astringent mixture of factual reportage with a highly individualistic aesthetic approach. It remains today one of the most powerful literary experiences.

**A Village Romeo and Juliet** by the Swiss writer Gottfried Keller is based on the actual suicide of two young lovers. It is set in the symbolic village of Seldwyla. The story contained in this setting is a bittersweet, pastoral tragedy which emerges starkly from the minutely observed, domestic world. It is a story which allows Keller to pursue his eloquent and restless exploration of human activity and motivation.