Richard Beer-Hofmann Biography

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Dictionary of Literary Biography on Richard Beer-Hofmann

Despite the sparseness of his own literary production, Richard Beer-Hofmann was the most influential member of the fin de siècle circle of Austrian writers known as "Young Vienna." His early novel Der Tod Georgs (Georg's Death, 1900) is probably the most representative example of literary art nouveau in the German language, and its stream-of-consciousness technique, though familiar to subsequent generations of readers, was still arrestingly innovative at the turn of the century. His influence also stemmed from his work in the theater, much of it in collaboration with the director Max Reinhardt; both as a dramatist and as a director, Beer-Hofmann was extensively involved in efforts to revitalize the theater and free it from what he and others regarded as the dead end of naturalism. And to some extent, finally, his influence can be attributed to his personal charm, his persuasive advocacy of his literary theories, and a reputation for uncompromising artistic integrity best summed up by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who called Beer-Hofmann "der strengste und unbestechlichste Kritiker, den ich habe" (the sternest and most incorruptible critic I have).

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