Fanny Lewald was one of the most respected and successful German woman novelists of the mid nineteenth century. Contemporary critics praised her novels for their serious social, political, and ethical content. Today they serve as a rich mine for investigations of the struggle for enfranchisement, self-determination, and self-realization against barriers of gender, ethnicity, and class. Because Lewald was a keen observer with perceptive psychological insights, her autobiography, biographical sketches, travel books, and correspondence expand modern understanding of nineteenth-century European life.

As her works increased in scope to cover a wider spectrum of society at particular historical times, Lewald was criticized for being too ambitious: critics questioned whether any novel could effectively re-create an entire era, and her writing was faulted for its lack of detail. Lewald eschewed description for its own sake, however, focusing on the telling detail that reveals a character's thoughts or evokes the spirit of...