476 



LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1880. 



pearance in German}'. Spielhagen has pub- 

 lished a tragic tale of love, entitled " Qui si 

 sana." Ebers's "Die Schvvestern," a story of 

 Egypt in the time of the first Ptolemy, has 

 also been published in English. Ferdinand 

 Meyer's " Der Heilige " is an excellent histori- 

 cal novel, based on the life of Thomas a Beck- 

 et. Alexander Schindler has written a delight- 

 ful historical romance of the time of the Refor- 

 mation, entitled "Die Goldschmieds-Kinder." 

 Theodor Storm has published "Die Sohne des 

 Senators," another of his accurate sketches 

 from real life. Rudolf Lindau, a disciple of 

 French naturalism, has contributed " Aus der 

 guten Gesellschaft." Theodor Fontane, in 

 " L'Adultera," has made a psychological study 

 of immorality. "Die Boehminger " is a new 

 novel by Heinrich Laube. Friedrich Uhl's 

 "Die Botschafterin" is a romance drawn from 

 the last period of the Polish monarchy. " Das 

 Goldene Kalb " is a satirical novel on the finan- 

 cial fever. " Meister Amor" is a novel of 

 artist-life by "VVilbrandt. "Ein Kampf urn's 

 Recht " is the latest novel of Franzos, and is 

 the story of a zealot for justice, like Kleist's 

 famous "Michael Kohlhaas," in a Polish set- 

 ting. Marie von Abner-Eschenbach has writ- 

 ten some clever short stories. Paul Heyse's 

 "Die Eselin" is a powerful pessimistic tale. 



DENMAPK. A sharp controversy broke out 

 between the Romanticist and Realist schools of 

 poetry and criticism, in consequence of an at- 

 tack upon the new tendencies made by C. 

 Plong, which was replied to by the upholders 

 of the "literary Left," whose foremost repre- 

 sentatives are Schandorph and Drachman. The 

 best poems of the year are Drachman's fairy 

 tale, "Eastward from the Sun, and Westward 

 from the Moon," his national epic of "Tor- 

 denskjold," and his collection of lyrics, called 

 " Youth." Collections have been published ot 

 the poems of Grundtvig, and of other poets. 

 Novels arid tales have been published by Etlar, 

 Ewald, Schandorph, and others. Gjellerup, 

 author of "The Idealist" and "Young Den- 

 mark," has produced a fine story of ancient 

 times, but tendential like his other works, 

 called "Antigonus." Of historical writings, 

 the most popular is the " History of Denmark 

 and Norway," begun by Troels Lund. Han- 

 sen's "Fifteen Years Abroad" has been trans- 

 lated into English. 



SWEDEN. Ahnfelt has compiled from origi- 

 nal sources interesting revelations of " Swedish 

 Court Life." Hildebrand is at work on an ex- 

 tensive history of Swedish culture in the mid- 

 dle ages. Novels and tales of Lea [Mrs. Wet- 

 tergrund], Nordensvan, Bondesson, and San- 

 tesson, and the stories of the Lapps, by " Gub- 

 ben Noach," show commendable qualities. Nor- 

 denskjold's account of his voyage has been 

 published in several different languages. A 

 remarkable economical treatise by K. Wicksell 

 adopts the Malthusian theories. Professor Ru- 

 din's work on Kierkegaard is intended to glo- 

 rify his religious character, and correct the 



effects of the critique of Brandes. C. D. af 

 Wirse~n and Emil von Qvanten are the princi- 

 pal poetical writers of the year. Rydberg has 

 published a volume of religious reflections. 

 Hedin has concluded his work on the women 

 of the French Revolution, and has written a 

 remarkable pamphlet in defense of the develop- 

 ment of the militia system. 



NOKWAY. Lyric poetry has died out; and 

 in prose fiction the simple pastoral tale of a 

 few years ago is no longer cultivated. Ibsen 

 and Bjornson have turned their hands to the 

 drama, and, with less success, Jonas Lie. Ivjel- 

 land, a young author, has produced a striking 

 novel called " Garman and Worse," and Lie a 

 good sea-novel in his earlier manner. Professor 

 O. Rygh has commenced an important work on 

 Scandinavian archasology, and Professor Die- 

 trichson has published an interesting inquiry 

 into the origin of the typical portrait of Christ. 

 Professor Sophus Bugge has published his work 

 on the connection between the Hebrew and 

 the Greco-Roman religions and the Scandina- 

 vian mythology. 



RUSSIA. The Pushkin festival was the sig- 

 nal for a reawakening of interest in literature. 

 The most notable product of that occasion was 

 the " Author's Diary," of Dostoiefsky. This 

 author's novel, called "The Brothers Karama- 

 zof," is one of the most powerful literary pro- 

 ductions of the age. In " A Literary Evening " 

 Gontcharof discusses realism in literature in an 

 interesting manner. Inferior to Dostoievsky's 

 great novel, but good of their several kinds, are 

 "Serious People," by K. Orlofsky [C. Golo- 

 vinj ; Potiekhin's " Young Sprouts," a socialis- 

 tic novel; Polonsky's "Cheap City," drawn 

 from actual experiences; Danilefsky's histori- 

 cal novel, named "Mirovitch"; and the satiri- 

 cal pictures by Stchendrin [Saltykof], called 

 " The Golovlefs " and " Beyond the Frontier." 

 Among a large crop of dramas, "A Heart, not 

 a Stone," by Ostrofsky, is the best. Among 

 the historical writings, Kostomarofs "Kuina," 

 on an interesting period of Russian history, is 

 the best. " Rome et Deme'trius," by Father 

 Paul Pierling, throws some new light on the 

 episode of Demetrius. In criticism, literary 

 history, science, philosophy, and in political 

 economy, an unusual number of books have 

 been published, some of which show much 

 thought and study. 



POLAND. Kraszewski continues his histori- 

 cal romances, the last being " Cracow in the 

 Days of King Ladislaus Lokietek," and has 

 written a powerful sketch of contemporary life 

 in "The Troubled Spirits." Sienkewicz is a 

 new author, whose letters from America, Rome, 

 and Paris have won him celebrity. Lam and 

 Wilczynski have each written a successful hu- 

 morous novel. 



ITALY. Considerable interest is taken in 

 folk-lore, the popular drama, etc. ; and literary 

 history and criticism in general were never 

 more cultivated. An anecdotical history of 

 Venice and its people is an interesting produc- 





