Rudolf Erich Raspe

Sarah Kareem (University of Chicago)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

Born Mar 1737
Died Nov 1794
Activity 1763-1794

Places

Born in Germany
Active in England; Germany

Genres and Modes

Science Fiction/ Speculative

Activities

Primary

Children's/Young Adult writer
Novelist
Story-writer

Other

Antiquarian/ Collector
Geologist
Humorist
Travel writer

Resources

Raspe's Works

Save to Bookshelf

The nineteenth-century antiquarian Robert Chambers observed of the life of Rudolf Erich Raspe: “there can hardly be a more curious piece of neglected biography”. The case remains today that for all the drama of his life, Raspe - translator; mining entrepreneur; geologist; curator; embezzler; essayist; possible industrial spy, and author of Baron Munchausen's adventures - is an oft-forgotten figure. As an innovator in remarkably diverse fields, including art history, geology, souvenir manufacturing, and fiction, Raspe had a unique passion for bringing art and science to the people, and a knack for harnessing the zeitgeist in his ephemeral productions.

Rudolf Raspe was born in Hanover in 1737 to Christian Theophilus Raspe, an accountant in the Hanoverian state department of mines and

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1780 words

Citation: Kareem, Sarah. "Rudolf Erich Raspe". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 October 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5847, accessed 21 November 2024.]