Eduard Bornhöhe (

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

); born Eduard Brunberg (, in Kullaaru,

Rakvere Parish Rakvere Parish ( et, Rakvere vald) is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Lääne-Viru County. Rakvere municipality surrounds the city of Rakvere and is located in north east Estonia. The shape of the municipality resembles to a butterfly. Rakver ...

, Kreis Wierland – 17 November 1923, in Tallinn), was an Estonian writer. Bornhöhe is generally considered a pioneer of the genre of the Estonian historical novel, as the majority of his creations consist of romanticism-influenced historical adventure stories.

Bibliography

*1880 Tasuja (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

for ''Avenger'') : A historical story, set during the time of the

St. George's Night Uprising Saint George's Night Uprising in 1343–1345 ( et, Jüriöö ülestõus, ) was an unsuccessful attempt by the indigenous Estonian population in the Duchy of Estonia, the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, and the insular territories of the State of the T ...

. Widely considered the best story of Bornhöhe. *1890 Villu võitlused (

...

for ''Battles of Villu'') : Another historical story set during the time of the

. More realistic and less naïve than Tasuja, with more sophisticated characters. *1892 Tallinna narrid ja narrikesed (

...

for ''Big fools and little fools of Tallinn'') : A

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

series of contemporary cranks. *1893 Vürst Gabriel ehk Pirita kloostri viimsed päevad (

...

for ''Furst Gabriel or The last days of Pirita monastery'') : This historical story, best known through the movie adaptation

Viimne reliikvia ''Viimne reliikvia'' ( Estonian for ''The Last Relic''; russian: Последняя реликвия, translit=Poslyednyaya ryelikvya) is a 1969 Estonian-language Soviet film based on '' Vürst Gabriel ehk Pirita kloostri viimsed päevad'' ( Esto ...

(

...

for ''The last relic''), is set during a peasant uprising in the era of the Livonian War. Due to Czarist censorship, this remained Bornhöhe's last historical story. *1899 Usurändajate radadel (

...

for ''On the trail of faith travellers'') : A travel diary. *1903 Kollid (

...

for ''Monsters'') : A realist short novel.

Withdrawal from publication

In 1893, the Russian Empire's censor prohibited publication of historical stories. This led to the eventual withdrawal of Bornhöhe from writing. Notably, he didn't publish any books during the last twenty years of his life.

Soviet views

Since Bornhöhe's preferred topic was

Estonia's ancient fight for freedom The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was ...

rather than more complex or more polemical subjects, Soviets generally found his writings useful, and presented them as examples of pre-Soviet patriotism.

Vürst Gabriel ehk Pirita kloostri viimased päevad ''Furst Gabriel or Last Days of the Pirita Monastery'' ( et, Vürst Gabriel ehk Pirita kloostri viimsed päevad) is an Estonian historical novelle by Eduard Bornhöhe. This historical story, first published in 1893, is the last of Eduard Bornh ...

was made into a movie, the first part of Tallinna narrid ja narrikesed was repeatedly published and adapted for TV under Soviet occupation, and Bornhöhe's historical novels were constantly in lists of

mandatory reading Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also ...

in Soviet Estonian schools.

Sources

* ''Eduard Bornhöhe. Kirjanik ja inimene'', a short monograph (1961) from the series of ''Eesti kirjamehi'' by

Endel Nirk Endel Nirk (15 December 1925 in Koorküla Parish – 15 April 2018) was an Estonian literary scientist, critic and writer. In 1949, he graduated from Tartu State University in Estonian philology. After graduating he worked at the editorial board ...

External links

Eduard Bornhöhe at Estonian Writers' Online Dictionary
1862 births 1923 deaths People from Rakvere Parish People from Kreis Wierland Estonian male novelists 19th-century Estonian novelists 20th-century Estonian novelists Burials at Metsakalmistu {{Estonia-writer-stub