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Keller, Gottfried, 1819-1890

We have 2 books for this author.

Keller around 1860

Gottfried Keller (July 19, 1819 – July 15, 1890), a Swiss writer, became arguably best-known for his novel Green Henry (German: Der grüne Heinrich).

Life and work

Educated at the Industrieschule in Zürich but then expelled in a political mix-up, Keller had to find work when he was 15. He became an apprentice in 1834 to the landscape-painter Steiger and in 1837 to the water-colourist Rudolf Meyer (1803-1857); then studied art for a time at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (Bavaria).

Keller returned to Zürich in 1842 and, although possessing artistic talent, took up writing. He published his first poems, Gedichte, in 1846. From 1848 to 1850 he studied at the University of Heidelberg, and from 1850 to 1855 worked in Berlin. In 1855, he published his autobiography, Green Henry, which won critical acclaim. He returned again to Zürich and became the First Secretary of the Canton of Zürich (Erster Zürcher Staatsschreiber) in 1861. In 1872 he published Seven Legends (Sieben Legenden), which dealt with the early Christian era. He retired from his cantonal post in 1876 in order to continue his writing.

A master story-teller, Keller wrote some of the best-known German-language short-stories of the late 19th century. His other works include The People of Seldwyla [Die Leute von Seldwyla] (1856-1874) (including the story A Village Romeo and Juliet [Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe], the basis of the Delius opera A Village Romeo and Juliet), Zurich Novellas [Züricher Novellen] (1877), Collected Poetry [Gesammelte Gedichte] (1883) and the novel Martin Salander (1886).