Richard Voss (2 September 1851 – 10 June 1918) was a German

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. In standard

German orthography German orthography is the orthography used in writing the German language, which is largely phonemic. However, it shows many instances of spellings that are historic or analogous to other spellings rather than phonemic. The pronunciation of al ...

, his surname is printed as Voß.

Biography

Voss was born on 2 September 1851, at Neu-Grape, the son of a country squire. Though intended for the life of a country gentleman, he showed no inclination for outdoor life, and on his return from the war of 1870-71, in which he was wounded, he studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

and

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 ...

, and then settled at

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...

. In 1884,

Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Charles Alexander (Karl Alexander August Johann; 24 June 1818 – 5 January 1901) was the ruler of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach as its grand duke from 1853 until his death. Biography Born in Weimar, Karl Alexander was the second but eldest surviving ...

, appointed Voss as librarian of the

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...

, but he later resigned the post, due to ill health. Voss spent 25 years of his life living at

Frascati Frascati () is a city and in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, ...

, near Rome, where he wrote many of his novels and plays. He was granted honorary citizenship of the town.

Main works

Plays

*''Savonarola'' (1878) *''Magda'' (1879) *''Die Patricierin'', a classical drama, which won the Schiller prize in 1896 (The Patrician Dame; 1880) *''Pater Modestus'', dealing with the problem of religion (1882) *''Der Mohr des Zaren'' (1883) *''Unehrlich Volk'' (1885) *''Alexandra'' (1888) *''Eva'' (1889) *''Wehe dem Besiegten'' (Woe to the Vanquished; 1889) *''Die neue Zeit'' (1891) *''Schuldig'' (1892) *''Lebenskünstler'' (1902)

Novels

*''San Sebastian'' (1883) *''Der Sohn der Volskerin'' (1885) *''Die Sabinerin'', remarkable for its beautiful descriptions of Italian country (1888) *''Der Mönch von Berchtesgaden'' (1891) *''Villa Falconieri'', the story of a successful poet who lost confidence in his powers (1896) *''Der neue Gott'' (1898) *''Die Rächerin'' (1899) *''Amata'', a story of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

's time (1901) *''Römisches Fieber'' (1902) *''Allerlei Erlebtes'' (1902) *''Die Leute von Valdars'' (1902) *''Die Schuldige'', novel in two parts (1907) *''Alpentragödie'' (1909) *'' Zwei Menschen'' (1911)

Filmography

*', directed by (1913) *', directed by (1913) *''

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

'', directed by (1914) *''Perjury'', directed by Harry F. Millarde (1921) *''Die Schuldige'', directed by

Fred Sauer Fred Sauer (14 December 1886 – 17 September 1952) was an Austrian actor, film director and screenwriter. Filmography As director * 1920: The Apache Chief ''(Der Apachenlord)'' * 1920: '' The Law of the Desert'' * 1920: '' Demon Blood' ...

(1921) *'' Two People'', directed by

Hanns Schwarz Hanns Schwarz (11 February 1888 – 27 October 1945) was an Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna on 11 February 1888. Biography He directed twenty four films between 1924 and 1937 in both English and German. During the late silent a ...

(1924) *'' Ein Lebenskünstler'', directed by

Holger-Madsen Forest Holger-Madsen (11 April 1878 – 30 November 1943) was a Danish film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed more than 40 films between 1912 and 1936. He also appeared in more than 20 films between 1908 and 1935. Selected filmo ...

(1925) *'' Alpine Tragedy'', directed by

Robert Land Robert Land (1887–1940) was an Austrian-Jewish film director of Moravian descent. Biography Born as Robert Liebmann to a German-speaking Jewish Family in Kroměříž. Land moved to Vienna to study German literature and art history. He started ...

(1927) *'' Guilty'', directed by Johannes Meyer (1928) *''

Villa Falconieri The Villa Falconieri is a villa in Frascati, Italy. History The villa was originally called Villa Rufina, having been was initially built by Monsignor Alessandro Rufini. Later it was enlarged thanks to Pope Paul III, dating back to 1546. In 16 ...

'', directed by

Richard Oswald Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald. Early life and career Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, ...

(1928) *'' Two People'', directed by

Erich Waschneck Erich John Waschneck (29 April 1887, in Grimma, Kingdom of Saxony – 22 September 1970, in Berlin) was a German cameraman, director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early life Erich was the son of Karl Hermann Waschneck, a blacksmith, and his ...

(1930) *'' Two People'', directed by

Paul May Paul May (8 May 1909 – 25 February 1976) was a German film director and film editor, editor. He directed 40 films between 1935 and 1972. Biography He was the son of Peter Ostermayr, a film producer with Universum Film AG, and his wife O ...

(1952)

Notes

References

* * Attribution *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Voss, Richard 1851 births 1918 deaths People from Pyrzyce County Writers from the Province of Pomerania 19th-century German novelists 20th-century German novelists German male novelists German male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers 20th-century German male writers