Gustav Heinrich Gans Edler Herr von und zu Putlitz (March 20, 1821 – September 5, 1890) was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

.

Biography

He was born at Retzien near Perleberg in West Prignitz

Prignitz

Prignitz is a Kreis in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, the district Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt and the district Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower...

. He studied law at Berlin

Humboldt University of Berlin

The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...

 and Heidelberg, and was attached to the provincial government at Magdeburg

Magdeburg

Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....

 from 1846-1848. In 1853 he married Gräfin Elisabeth von Königsmark, and lived on his estate.

In 1863, he became director of the Court theatre at Schwerin

Schwerin

Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...

. This post he left in 1867, was for a short time chamberlain

Chamberlain (office)

A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....

 to the crown prince of Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

, afterwards the Emperor Frederick III

Frederick III, German Emperor

Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...

, and from 1873 to 1889 successfully directed the Court theatre at Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

. He died at Retzien.

Works

Putlitz made his debut as a writer with a volume of romantic fairy stories in verse

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, Was sich der Wald erzählt (Tales told among the woods; 1850), which attained great popularity (fifty editions) and found many imitators.

He was most successful in his comedies, notably Badekuren (Spa cures; 1859), much read in the schools of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

; Das Herz vergessen (Forgetting the heart; 1853), also much read in U.S. schools; and Spielt nicht mit dem Feuer! (Don't play with fire!; 1887). These portrayed life among the upper classes

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

. Two notable dramas are Das Testament des Grossen Kurfürsten (1858) and Rolf Berndt (1881).

Of his novels, Die Alpenbraut (Bride of the Alps; 1870) and Walpurgis (1870) are distinguished by refined terseness of style and delicacy of portraiture. Also notable are Vergissmeinnicht (Forget me not; 1851), Brandenburgher Geschichten (Brandenburg Tales; 1862), Novellen (1863), and Funken unter der Asche (Sparks under the ashes; 1871).

Editions

A selection of his works, Ausgewählte Werke, was published in six volumes in Berlin (1872-1877), and a supplementary volume in 1888; his comedies, Lustspiele, appeared in two series of four volumes each (1851-1860 and 1869-1872).