Educated at Berlin and Bonn Universities, Heyse received his doctorate in philology in 1852. He then spent a year in Italy travelling and studying literature. On his return to Germany, he was given a stipend by the Bavarian king Maximilian II to be his court poet. Over the ensuing years, Heyse produced a number of stage plays, which were not very successful, although they did result in his being awarded the Schiller prize in 1884. Heyse will be best remembered for his use of the novella, of which he produced over 100 and helped to establish this as a literary vehicle. In 1910, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature and in 1912 was made a nobleman by the king. His best-known works include L'Arrabbiata - The Fury (1855), The Maiden of Treppi (1858), Maria Moroni (1866), In Paradise (1875), Frau Von F. (1881), Mary of Magdala (1899), Crone Staudlin (1905) and his autobiography Jugenderinnerungen und Bekentnisse (1912). |
