Mearchen

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Wilhelm Hauff (1802-1827) was a German poet and novelist. Considering his brief life, he was an extraordinarily prolific writer. The freshness and originality of his talent, his inventiveness, and his genial humour have won him a high place among the southern German prose writers of the early nineteenth century. In 1820, he began to study at the University of Tübingen. On leaving the university, he became tutor to the children of the famous Württemberg minister of war, General Baron Ernst Eugen von Hügel (1774-1849) and for them wrote his <i>Märchen</i> (fairy tales), which he published in his <i>Märchen Almanach auf das Jahr 1826</i> (<i>Fairytale Almanac of 1826</i>). Inspired by Sir Walter Scott's novels, Hauff wrote the historical romance <i>Lichtenstein: Romantische Sage aus der württembergischen Geschichte</i> (<i>Lichtenstein: Romantic Saga from the History of Württemberg</i>) (1826), which acquired great popularity in Germany and especially in Swabia. Other works include: <i>Der Mann im Mond</i> (<i>The Man in the Moon</i>) (1825), <i>Mitteilungen aus den Memoiren des Satan</i> (<i>Memoirs of Beelzebub</i>) (1826) and <i>Phantasien im Bremer Ratskeller</i> (<i>The Wine-Ghosts of Bremen</i>) (1827).