Hermann Sudermann

Hermann Sudermann (1857-1928), German novelist and playwright, born in Matziken, East Prussia (now in Poland), and educated at the University of Königsberg. His early novel Dame Care (1887; trans. 1891) became a model for the social novel of his time. As one of the first naturalistic playwrights, Sudermann scored a success with the play Sodoms Ende (The End of Sodom, 1891) and Heimat (The Homeland, 1893). The drama Magda (1893; trans. 1896) became a famous vehicle for the French actor Sarah Bernhardt, the British actor Mrs. Patrick Campbell, and the Italian actor Eleonora Duse. Of Sudermann's other works, the best known are the play The Joy of Living (1902; trans. 1902) and the novel The Song of Songs (1908; trans. 1909).