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Part of the book: Techniques of Solipsism

Terence John Rogers

MHRA Texts and Dissertations 1

Modern Humanities Research Association

ModernGermanFictionPoetryopen

Abstract.  During the last three years of his life, Storm’s manner of work changed somewhat. He had previously been in the habit of writing his works one after the other, waiting until one story was completely off the stocks before starting on the next. But Der Schimmelreiter was different. The idea of such a story had been with him for years already, and by 1885 he was ready to begin work on it. First notes were made in February 1885, and he hoped to write the story down in 1886; but various factors intervened to postpone the final composition. His health was deteriorating, and he was often gravely ill; he was shattered by the death of his beloved but profligate son Hans in December 1886; and he seems to have felt a curious apprehension about the material of Der Schimmelreiter and his own ability to treat it. Whenever a less demanding or more malleable theme came his way, he turned to it almost with relief and left Der Schimmelreiter in order to write another story. This is how Ein Fest auf Haderslevhuus, Bötjer Basch, Ein Doppelgänger and Ein Bekenntnis came to be written. Note: The endnotes to Part III are in the end matter of the book, not in this PDF.

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