The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Rosegger, Peter

ROSEGGER, Peter, Austrian novelist and short-story writer: b. Alpl, Styria, 31 July 1843; d. 28 June 1918. The son of a poor peasant, he was obliged to obtain an education by his own efforts, chiefly out of school, until he gained the literary protection of Albert Swoboda, editor of the Graz Tagespost, to which Rosegger became a contributor. He obtained a traveling stipend, with the aid of which he visited Germany, Holland, Switzerland and Italy, and in 1876 founded, at Graz, the Heimgarten, a periodical with which he continued to be connected until his death. His stories deal with the life of the mountain peasantry of Styria and possess a great deal of rude energy and simple pathos and humor, not always without sentimentality. The most famous is ‘Die Schriften des Waldschulmeisters,’ purporting to be the autobiographical record of a recluse country schoolmaster, Andreas Erdmann, who chooses this profession after an adventurous youth, but, after having practised it for 50 vears, again feels a longing for the more exciting life of great multitudes. Other important works are ‘Das Buch der Novellen’ (1872-86); ‘Waldheimat’ (autobiographical, 1873, 1877; 35th ed., 1912); ‘Der Gottsucher’ (1883); ‘Jakob der Letzte’ (1888); ‘Peter Mayr’ (1893). Two good editions of his works are ‘Ausgewählte Schriften’ (30 vols., Vienna 1894) and ‘Volksausgabe’ or People's edition (40 vols., Vienna and Leipzig 1895-1900). There are biographies by Vulliod (in French) and by Feierfeil (in German).