WILHELM

RAABE (1831-1910)  , German novelist, whose early works were published under the pseudonym of Jakob Corvinus, was born at Eschershausen in the duchy of Brunswick on the 8th of September 1831 . He served apprenticeship at a bookseller's in Magdeburg for four years (1849-1854); but tiring of the routine of business, studied philosophy at Berlin(1855-1857) . While a student at that university he published his first work, Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse (1857), which at once attained to great popularity . Raabe next returned to Wolfenbuttel, and then lived (1862-187o) at Stuttgart, where he devoted himself entirely to authorship and wrote a number of novels and short stories; notably Unseres Herrgotts Kanzlei (1862); Der Hungerpastor (1864); Abu Telfan (1867) and Der Schildderump (1870) . In 1870 Raabe removed to Brunswick and published the narratives Horacker (1876)—perhaps his masterpiece; Das Odfeld (1889); Kloster Lugau (1894) and Hastenbeck (1899), and numerous other stories . The distinguishing characteristic of Raabe's work is a genial humour which reminds us occasionally of Dickens; but this humour is often combined with a pessimism that is foreign to the English novelist . Raabe's Gesammelte Erzahlungen appeared in 4 vols . (1896-1900) ; there is no uniform edition of his larger novels . See P . Gerber, Wilhelm Raabe (1897); A . Otto, Wilhelm Raabe (1899); A . Bartels, Wilhelm Raabe: Vortrag (1901) .