Background
Holtei was born on January 24, 1798 in Wrocław, Poland, the son of an officer of Hussars.
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Karl von Holtei: Ein Mord in Riga. Kriminalroman Edition Holzinger. Taschenbuch Berliner Ausgabe, 2015 Vollständiger, durchgesehener Neusatz mit einer Biographie des Autors bearbeitet und eingerichtet von Michael Holzinger • Erstdruck 1855. Herausgeber der Reihe: Michael Holzinger Reihengestaltung: Viktor Harvion Umschlaggestaltung unter Verwendung des Bildes: Lithographie von Joseph Kriehuber, 1856 Gesetzt aus Minion Pro, 11 pt.
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Holtei was born on January 24, 1798 in Wrocław, Poland, the son of an officer of Hussars.
Having served in the Prussian army as a volunteer in 1815, Holtei shortly afterwards entered the University of Breslau as a student of law; but, attracted by the stage, he soon forsook academic life.
Holtei made his debut in the Breslau theatre as Mortimer in Schiller's Mona Stuart. He led a wandering life for the next two years, appearing less on the stage as an actor than as a reciter of his own poems. In 1821 he was appointed theatre-poet to the Breslau stage. He next removed to Berlin, where his wife fulfilled an engagement at the Court theatre. During his sojourn here he produced the vaudevilles Die Wiener in Berlin (1824), and Die Berliner in Wien (1825), pieces which enjoyed at the time great popular favour. In 1825 his wife died; but soon after her death he accepted an engagement at the Königsstädter theatre in Berlin, when he wrote a number of plays, notably Lenore (1828), based on Gottfried August Bürger's ballad, and Der alte Feldherr (1825). In 1830 he played in Darmstadt with his wife. Returning to Berlin in 1831 he wrote for the composer Franz Gläser (1798-1861) the text of the opera Des Adlers Horst (1832), and for Ludwig Devrient the drama, Der dumme Peter (1837). In 1833 Holtei again went on the stage and toured with his wife to various important cities, Hamburg, Leipzig, Dresden, Munich and Vienna. In the last his declamatory powers as a reciter, particularly of Shakespeare's plays, made a furore, and the poet-actor was given the appointment of manager of the Josefstädter theatre in the last-named city. Though proud of his successes both as actor and reciter, Holtei left Vienna in 1836, and from 1837 to 1839 conducted the theatre in Riga. Here his second wife died, and after wandering through Germany reciting and accepting a short engagement at Breslau, he settled in 1847 at Graz, where he devoted himself to a literary life and produced the novels Die Vagabunden (1851), Christian Lammfell (1853) and Der letzte Komödiant (1863). The last years of his life were spent at Breslau, where being in poor circumstances he found a home in the Kloster der Barmherzigen Brüder, and here he died. As a dramatist Holtei may be said to have introduced the vaudeville into Germany; as an actor, although remaining behind the greater artists of his time, he contrived to fascinate his audience by the dramatic force of his exposition of character as a reciter, especially of Shakespeare, he knew no rival. Holtei was not only a stage-poet but, a lyric-writer of great charm. Notable among such productions are Schlesische Gedichte (1830; 20th ed. , 1893), Gedichte (5th ed. , 1861), Stimmen des Waldes (2nd ed. , 1854). Mention ought also to be made of Holtei's interesting autobiography, Vierzig Jahre (8 vols. , 1843-1850; 3rd ed. , 1862) with the supplementary volume Noch ein Jahr in Schlesien (1864).
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( Karl von Holtei: Ein Mord in Riga. Kriminalroman Editi...)
In 1821 Holtei married the actress Luise Roge (1800-1825). In 1830 he married Julie Holzbecher (1809-1839), an actress engaged at the same theatre.