Although Adalbert Stifter (1808–68) has long been recognised as a key figure in nineteenth-century German prose writing, his literary reputation has been curiously volatile. This major study, first published in 1984, was a reassessment of Stifter's work within the context of the tradition of nineteenth-century European fictional prose. The authors pay close attention to features of style, structure and narrative perspective in order to suggest that Stifter's heavily stylised prose expresses a profound and significant irresolution. On the one hand, Stifter seeks to assert that the natural world is a divinely ordained creation; on the other, he recognises that nature is a self-regulating mechanism, a totality that is scientifically explicable. Stifter emerges as a writer of European stature. This tightly organised, lucid study will prove of interest to students of German literature and serve as an introduction to Stifter for those who take an interest in European prose fiction.
