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Levin Schücking (full name: ''Christoph Bernhard Levin Matthias Schücking''; September 6, 1814 – August 31, 1883) was a German novelist. He was born near
Meppen Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Möppen'') is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems (river), Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from t ...
,
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
, and died in
Bad Pyrmont Bad Pyrmont (, also: ; West Low German: ) is a town in the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont, in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a population close to 19,000. It is located on the river Emmer (Weser), Emmer, about west of the Weser. Bad Pyrmont is a popul ...
,
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
. He was the uncle of Levin Ludwig Schücking.


Biography

Born into the
Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
n
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
on the estate of Klemenswerth, near
Meppen Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Möppen'') is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems (river), Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from t ...
, his mother, Sibilla Katharina ''née'' Busch (1791–1831) was a poet who occasionally published, whilst his father was Paulus Modestus Schücking. Levin's mother became friend of the poet
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff Baroness Anna Elisabeth Franziska Adolphine Wilhelmine Louise Maria von Droste zu Hülshoff, known as Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (; 10 January 179724 May 1848), was a 19th-century German Biedermeier poet, novelist, and composer of Classical ...
, who wrote her son a letter of introduction when he left home for the gymnasium in Münster. Shortly after he left home, his mother died, and Baroness von Droste-Hülshoff did her best to fill this void in his life. After studying law at
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
,
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
and
Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
, Schücking wished to enter the government judicial service, but, confronted by serious difficulties, abandoned the legal career, and settling at
Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
in 1837, devoted himself to literary work. In 1841 he removed to
Schloss Meersburg Meersburg () is a town in Baden-Württemberg in the southwest of Germany. It is on Lake Constance. It is known for its medieval city. The lower town ("Unterstadt") and upper town ("Oberstadt") are reserved for pedestrians only, and connected by t ...
on the
Lake of Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...
. In 1843, Schücking married Baroness Luise von Gall. Up to this time, Droste-Hülshoff had been a major inspiration in his life, but she and his wife did not get along. Droste-Hülshoff felt he neglected her and that his head was too turned by the revolutionary " Young Germany". And then Schücking published a novel on the Westphalian nobility, which did not depict them favorably, and Droste-Hülshoff's friends, sometimes rightly, sometimes wrongly, traced many of the depictions back to Droste-Hülshoff. This annoyance led to her avoiding Schücking for the rest of her life. Also in 1843, he joined the editorial staff of the ''Allgemeine Zeitung'' in
Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
, and in 1845, he joined that of the ''Kölnische Zeitung'' in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
as a literary editor and occasional foreign correspondent. In 1852 he left his career in journalism for his estate in
Sassenberg Sassenberg() is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 6 km north-east of Warendorf and 30 km east of Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent ...
near
Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
to have more time for writing. He died at Pyrmont on 31 August 1883.


Works

His first efforts were descriptive: *''Das Malerische und romantische Westfalen'' (1842) *''Der Dom zu Köln und seine Vollendung'' (1842) Among his numerous romances, which are distinguished by good taste and patriotic feeling, largely reflecting the sound, sturdy character of the Westphalians, the most noteworthy include: *''Ein Schloss am Meer'' (1843) *''Ein Sohn des Vosges'' (1849) *''Ein Staatsgeheimnis'' (1854) *''Verschlungene Wege'' (1867) *''Die Herberge der Gerechtigkeit'' (1879) Schucking wrote a number of short stories: *''Aus den Tagen der grossen Kaiserin'' (1858) *''Neue Novellen'' (1877) In ''
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff Baroness Anna Elisabeth Franziska Adolphine Wilhelmine Louise Maria von Droste zu Hülshoff, known as Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (; 10 January 179724 May 1848), was a 19th-century German Biedermeier poet, novelist, and composer of Classical ...
'' (1862) he gives a sketch of this poet and acknowledges his indebtedness to her beneficial influence upon his mind. There appeared posthumously, ''Lebenserinnerungen'' (1886) and ''Briefe von Annette von Droste-Hülshoff und Levin Schücking'' (1893). His wife, Luise (1815–1855), daughter of the General Freiherr von Gall, in the Hessian service, published some novels and romances of considerable merit. Among the latter may be mentioned ''Gegen den Strom'' (1851) and ''Der neue Kreuzritter'' (1853). She also wrote a successful comedy, ''Ein schlechtes Gewissen'' (1842). Schücking's ''Gesammelte Erzählungen und Novellen'' appeared in 6 vols (1859–1866); ''Ausgewählte Romane'' (12 vols, 1864; 2nd series, also 12 vols, 1874–1876). Several of Schücking's works appeared in the popular German weekly ''
Die Gartenlaube (; ) was the first successful mass-circulation German newspaper and a forerunner of all modern magazines.Sylvia Palatschek: ''Popular Historiographies in the 19th and 20th Centuries'' (Oxford: Berghahn, 2010) p. 41 It was founded by publisher ...
'' (such as ''"Pulver und Gold"'' in January 1871).


Sources

* *
Carl Schurz Carl Christian Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German-American revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He migrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent ...
, ''Reminiscences'' (3 vols.), New York: McClure Publ. Co., 1907, Vol. 1, Ch. 3, p. 65. Schurz recalls how, as an aspiring writer attending a gymnasium in Cologne, he sent a manuscript to Schücking requesting an appointment to get his opinion on the work. Schücking granted the appointment, but told the disappointed boy he should regard the work as a "study." Schurz later appreciated the wisdom of this advice.


Notes


References

;Attribution * *


External links

*
Schücking Museum
* * ''"Pulver und Gold"'', ''
Die Gartenlaube (; ) was the first successful mass-circulation German newspaper and a forerunner of all modern magazines.Sylvia Palatschek: ''Popular Historiographies in the 19th and 20th Centuries'' (Oxford: Berghahn, 2010) p. 41 It was founded by publisher ...
'', January 1871, Commons page-image: Comm-Pulver, Wikisource
WikiS-Pulver


(schuecking-museum.de) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schucking, Levin 1814 births 1883 deaths People from Meppen Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Journalists from the Kingdom of Prussia Novelists from the Kingdom of Prussia Heidelberg University alumni University of Göttingen alumni German male journalists 19th-century German journalists German male novelists 19th-century German novelists 19th-century German male writers Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger people