Johann Gottfried Schnabel (November 7, 1692 – ) was a German writer best known for his novel ''Insel Felsenburg''. He published his works under the

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 ...

Gisander. Schnabel was born in

Sandersdorf Sandersdorf is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Sandersdorf-Brehna. It is situated approximately 5 km west of Bitterfeld, and 27&n ...

near

Bitterfeld Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Halle (S ...

, Germany. Orphaned in 1694, he was raised by relatives.Meid, Volker: Reclams Lexikon der deutschsprachigen Autoren, Stuttgart 2001 After an apprenticeship to a barber from 1706 to 1709, Schnabel worked as a ''

Feldsher According to the World Health Organization, a feldsher (german: Feldscher, pl, Felczer, cs, Felčar, russian: фельдшер, sv, Fältskär, Finnish: ''Välskäri'') is a health care professional who provides various medical services limit ...

,'' a military barber-surgeon, in the regiments of

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

and

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

until 1717.Biography on the website of the Johann Gottfried Schnabel Society
/ref> In this capacity he took part in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. In 1719, Schnabel settled as a master barber in

Querfurt Querfurt () is a town in the Saalekreis district, or ''Kreis'', in southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located in a fertile area on the Querne, west from Merseburg. In 2020, the town had a population of 10,454. The town Querfurt consists of Q ...

. From 1724 he was court barber in the County of

Stolberg-Wernigerode The County of Stolberg-Wernigerode (german: Grafschaft Stolberg-Wernigerode) was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz region around Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg. ...

, where he was promoted to ''

valet de chambre ''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on t ...

'' in 1729 and to court agent around 1737. The year 1750 shows the last record of Schnabel's life; his death date and place are unknown.

''Insel Felsenburg''

The ''Insel Felsenburg'' (literally: Rock Castle Island) was originally published in 1731 under the title :''Wunderliche Fata einiger Seefahrer, absonderlich Alberti Julii, eines geborenen Sachsens, welcher in seinem 18den Jahre zu Schiffe gegangen, durch Schiff-Bruch selb 4te an eine grausame Klipe geworffen worden, nach deren Übersteigung das schönste Land entdeckt, sich daselbst mit seiner Gefährtin verheyrathet, aus solcher Ehe eine Familie mit mehr als 300 Seelen erzeuget, das Land vortrefflich angebauet, durch besondere Zufälle erstaunens-würdige Schätze gesammlet, seine in Teutschland ausgekundschafften Freunde glücklich gemacht, am Ende des 1728sten Jahres, als in seinem Hunderten Jahre, annoch frisch und gesund gelebt, und vermuthlich noch zu dato lebt, entworffen Von dessen Bruders-Sohnes-Sohnes-Sohne, Mons. Eberhard Julio, Curieusen Lesern aber zum vermuthlichen Gemüths-Vergnügen ausgefertiget, auch par Commission dem Drucke übergeben Von Gisandern''. The title was only in 1828 shortened into ''Insel Felsenburg'' when republished in an abridged version by German

romanticist Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in Be ...

. The title summarizes the book. It is about a seaman who is shipwrecked on the coast of an island, where he marries and starts a family of 300. It combines themes of the then-popular genre of the ''

robinsonade Robinsonade () is a literary genre that takes its name from the 1719 novel ''Robinson Crusoe'' by Daniel Defoe. The success of this novel spawned so many imitations that its name was used to define a genre, which is sometimes described simply a ...

'' with elements of a social

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

. The book was highly successful when it was published. German author

Arno Schmidt Arno Schmidt (; 18 January 1914 – 3 June 1979) was a German author and translator. He is little known outside of German-speaking areas, in part because his works present a formidable challenge to translators. Although he is not one of the p ...

wrote in a review to a reissue of the book: "It is attested that around and after 1750 the library of a commoner consisted of at least two volumes: the Bible and the ''Insel Felsenburg''." Review of the 1960 reissue Due to the success of the original work, Schnabel published three sequels of decreasing quality.

Works

*''Wunderliche Fata einiger See-Fahrer... (Insel Felsenburg)'' (1731, sequels in 1732, 1736 and 1743) *''Lebens- Helden- und Todes-Geschicht des berühmtesten Feld-Herrn bißheriger Zeiten Eugenii Francisci, Printzen von Savoyen und Piemont...'' (1736) *''Der im Irr-Garten der Liebe herum taumelnde Cavalier...'' (1738, published anonymously) *''Der aus dem Mond gefallene und nachhero zur Sonne des Glücks gestiegene Printz...'' (1750)

Translation

*''Palisades Island: A Translation of ''Insel Felsenburg'' by J. G. Schnabel.'' Translated by John W. Van Cleve (Mellen: Lewiston and Lampeter, 2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schnabel, Johann Gottfried 1692 births 1750s deaths People from Anhalt-Bitterfeld German male writers Writers from Saxony-Anhalt