WRITER

Theodor Fontane

1819 - 1898

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Theodor Fontane (German pronunciation: [ˈtʰeːodoɐ̯ fɔnˈtaːnə] ; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist author. Fontane is known as a writer of realism, not only because he was conscientious about the factual accuracy of details in fictional scenes, but also because he depicted his characters in terms of what they said or did and refrained from overtly imputing motives to them. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known today, only at age 58 after a career as a journalist. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Theodor Fontane has received more than 343,479 page views. His biography is available in 56 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 54 in 2019). Theodor Fontane is the 821st most popular writer (up from 847th in 2019), the 782nd most popular biography from Germany (up from 829th in 2019) and the 46th most popular German Writer.

Theodor Fontane was a German poet and novelist who is most famous for his novel "Effi Briest".

Memorability Metrics

  • 340k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 63.19

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 56

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.65

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 5.28

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Effi Briest
Fiction
In 1919 Thomas Mann hailed Effi Briest (1895) as one of "the six most significant novels ever written." Set in Bismarck's Germany, Fontane's luminous tale of a socially suitable but emotionally disastrous match between the enchanting seventeen-year-old Effi and an austere, workaholic civil servant twice her age, is at once touching and unsettling. Fontane's taut, ironic narrative depicts a world where sexuality and the enjoyment of life are stifled by narrow-mindedness and circumstance. Considered by many to be the pinnacle of the nineteenth-century German novel, Effi Briest is a tale of adultery that ranks with Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina and brilliantly demonstrates the truth of the author's comment and "women's stories are generally far more interesting."
18953 / 5
Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg
1892
Sämtliche Werke
1959
Briefe
1943
Der Stechlin
1899
Irrungen, Wirrungen
1896

Page views of Theodor Fontanes by language

Over the past year Theodor Fontane has had the most page views in the with 188,483 views, followed by English (34,366), and Italian (6,619). In terms of yearly growth of page views the top 3 wikpedia editions are West Frisian (90.48%), Ido (90.38%), and Irish (77.22%)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Theodor Fontane ranks 821 out of 7,302. Before him are Danilo Kiš, Charles Maurras, Tony Buzan, Jerome K. Jerome, Edgar Wallace, and Ban Gu. After him are Ahmad Khani, Neale Donald Walsch, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, Ibn Hawqal, Italo Svevo, and Harry Mulisch.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1819, Theodor Fontane ranks 19. Before him are John Ruskin, George Eliot, Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, John Couch Adams, William T. G. Morton, and George V of Hanover. After him are Franz von Suppé, Stanisław Moniuszko, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia, Gottfried Keller, Louise Marie Thérèse of Artois, and Francis V, Duke of Modena. Among people deceased in 1898, Theodor Fontane ranks 16. Before him are Johann Jakob Balmer, Charles Garnier, Ferdinand Cohn, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Eleanor Marx, and Félicien Rops. After him are John Newlands, Syed Ahmad Khan, Henry Bessemer, Aubrey Beardsley, Heungseon Daewongun, and William Ewart Gladstone.

Others Born in 1819

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Others Deceased in 1898

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In Germany

Among people born in Germany, Theodor Fontane ranks 782 out of 7,253. Before him are Wilhelm Cuno (1876), Wilhelm Bittrich (1894), Franz Joseph Gall (1758), Theodor W. Hänsch (1941), Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1840), and Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707). After him are Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (1793), Udo Kier (1944), Matthias Erzberger (1875), Bernd Schuster (1959), Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724), and Ferdinand von Lindemann (1852).

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Among WRITERS In Germany

Among writers born in Germany, Theodor Fontane ranks 46. Before him are Georg Büchner (1813), Clemens Brentano (1778), Ulrich von Hutten (1488), Wilhelm Hauff (1802), Marie d'Agoult (1805), and Karl Harrer (1890). After him are Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724), Thietmar of Merseburg (975), Frank Wedekind (1864), Peter Weiss (1916), Bernhard Schlink (1944), and Hans Fallada (1893).

German born Writers

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