Fritz Reuter - Early Published Works

Early Published Works

Reuter's first publication was a collection of miscellaneous poems, written in Low German, entitled Läuschen un Riemels (anecdotes and rhymes, 1853; a second collection followed in 1858). The book, which was received with encouraging favour, was followed by Polterabendgedichte (1855), and De Reis' nach Belligen (1855), the latter a humorous epic poem describing the adventures of some Mecklenburg peasants who resolve to go to Belgium (which they never reach) to learn the secrets of modern farming.

In 1856 Reuter left Treptow and established himself at Neubrandenburg, resolving to devote his whole time to literary work. His next book (published in 1858) was Kein Hüsung, a verse epic in which he presents with great force and vividness some of the least attractive aspects of village life in Mecklenburg. This was followed, in 1860, by Hanne Nüte un de lütte Pudel, the last of the works written by Reuter in verse.

In 1861 Reuter's popularity was largely increased by Schurr-Murr, a collection of tales, some of which are in standard German, but this work is of slight importance in comparison with the series of stories, entitled Olle Kamellen ("old stories of bygone days"). The first volume, published in 1860, contained Woans ick tau 'ne Fru kam and Ut de Franzosentid. Ut mine Festungstid (1861) formed the second volume; Ut mine Stromtid (1864) the third, fourth and fifth volumes; and Dörchläuchting (1866) the sixth volume – all written in the Plattdeutsch dialect of the author's home. Woans ick tau 'ne Fru kamm is a bright little tale, in which Reuter tells, in a half serious half bantering tone, how he wooed the lady who became his wife.

In Ut de Franzosentid the scene is laid in and near Stavenhagen in the year 1813, and the characters of the story are associated with the great events of the Napoleonic wars which then stirred the heart of Germany to its depths. Ut mine Festungstid, a narrative of Reuter's hardships during the term of his imprisonment, is no less vigorous either in conception or in style. Both novels have been translated into English by Carl F. Bayerschmidt, Ut mine Festungstid as Seven Years of My Life in 1975, and Ut de Franzosentid as When the French Were Here in 1984.