On publication in 1835 Willibald Alexis' Zeitroman Das Haus Duesterweg sparked controversy only to be subsequently ignored by specialists on the Vormaerz (1815-48). It has been viewed as an anomaly in Alexis' literary production, but in fact lies at the core of the intellectual interests and formal experimentation of Alexis, the prominent Vormaerz author, theorist, critic and journalist. Based on techniques derived from Walter Scott, it anticipates the theory and practice of Gutzkow's Roman des Nebeneinander. Under the aspect of Zerrissenheit it records and analyzes the psychological and political agony of the contemporary scene.