The German poet and novelist Theodor Storm (1817-1888) ranks as one of the finest lyric poets in German literature, but modern readers know him best for his novellas, a form in which he was a recognized master.

Theodor Storm was born on Sept. 14, 1817, at Husum, an old coastal town in Schleswig. His father, of humble origin, was an attorney, but his mother, whose interest in family life, art, and nature Storm inherited, had a patrician heritage. From 1837 to 1842 he studied law, principally at Kiel, where he became a friend of Theodor Mommsen, later a celebrated historian, and his brother, together with whom he published a volume of poetry in 1843. A volume of his own poetry, issued in 1852, was expanded through a seventh edition in 1885. In 1843 Storm began to practice law at Husum, and he married Konstanze Esmarch 3 years later. They had seven children.

Mood Novels

All of Storm's...