Wilhelm Hauf lived a short life, but managed to go down in literary history. He became famous for his fairy tales, which introduce the reader to a vivid world of wonders and fantasies. The works of the German writer became popular during his lifetime and far outlived their author.
From the biography of Wilhelm Hauff
German storyteller Wilhelm Hauf was born on November 29, 1802. He was born in Stuttgart. His father served as a secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1809, my father died. Wilhelm's family moved to Tübingen. All of Gauff's childhood was spent in the house of his grandfather, his mother's father. He received his first education at home: the boy had at his disposal numerous works of the classics of literature.
In 1818, Gauf began his studies at the school at the monastery, and two years later he became a student at the University of Tübingen. Here he spent the next four years of his life. After graduating from the university, Wilhelm received the coveted diploma of Doctor of Theology.
Having a university diploma, Gauf gets a job as a tutor for a noble family, to the Minister of Defense Ernst von Högel. Together with the family of General Gauf was able to travel across Europe. He visited France, got to know the north of Germany better. Hauff's path lay through many cities, he saw Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, Bremen, Leipzig, Dresden.
The beginning of the creative path of Gauff
Gauf wrote his first fairy tales for the children of Baron Högel. These works were first published in 1926, entering the almanac of fairy tales for children of the noble classes. Hauff's tales "Caliph the Stork", "Little Muck", "Ghost Ship" quickly became popular in those countries where German was spoken. In the same period, Wilhelm began to create the novel Pages of Satan's Memoirs and the satirical parody The Man from the Moon.
It irritated Gough that mediocre romance novels were bringing their authors unheard of royalties. He decided to publish some of his works under the pseudonym "Klauren". The reading public met the novel with delight. But when the forgery was discovered, a scandal erupted. The court determined that Gauf must pay a substantial fine for using a false name. However, the consequences were not so sad for the author - after the scandal, his real name quickly became popular.
Gauf later published the historical novel Liechtenstein. This work of the writer was inspired by the works of Walter Scott. The book was considered one of the best novels in its genre.
Wilhelm Hauf: a tragic end
In 1927, Wilhelm Hauf took over as editor of a newspaper in Stuttgart. He soon got married. The writer’s chosen one was his cousin Louise Gauf, to whom he was not indifferent from a young age. Soon the young couple had a daughter, Wilhelmina. But the happy father did not have time to enjoy communication with loved ones. He died on November 18, 1827. The cause of death was typhoid fever. Wilhelm Hauf is buried in Stuttgart.
Hauff's creative legacy was composed of three almanacs of amazing fairy tales, a number of novels and poems. Some works were published after the death of the writer - they were published by the widow. The Russian reader was introduced to the works of the German storyteller by Vissarion Belinsky, who faithfully translated and processed his works.
