From 1843-1853 Auerbach published his Black Forest Village Stories, which at once became the delight of the reading public.  Auerbach himself claimed the distinction of being the originator of this new species of narrative—­an honor which was also claimed by Alexander Weill, because of his Sittengemaelde aus dem Elsass ("Genre Paintings from Alsace,” 1843).  While Gotthelf had written only for his peasants, without any regard for others, Auerbach wrote for the same general readers of fiction as the then fashionable writers did.  So far as his popularity among the readers of the times and his influence on other authors are concerned, Auerbach has a certain right to the coveted title, for a whole school of village novelists followed at his heels; and his name must remain inseparably connected with the history of the novel of provincial life.  The impression his stories made everywhere was so strong as to beggar description.  They afforded the genuine delight that we get from murmuring brooks and flowering meadows—­although the racy smell of the soil that is wafted toward us from the pages of Gotthelf’s writings is no doubt more wholesome for a greater length of time.  Auerbach has often been charged with idealizing his peasants too much.  It must be admitted that his method and style are idealistic, but, at least in his best works, no more so than is compatible with the demands of artistic presentation.  He does not, like Gotthelf, delight in painting a face with all its wrinkles, warts, and freckles, but works more like the portrait painter who will remove unsightly blemishes by retouching the picture without in any way sacrificing its lifelike character.  When occasion demands he also shows himself capable of handling thoroughly tragic themes with pronounced success.  In his later years, it is true, he fell into mannerism, overemphasized his inclination toward didacticism and sententiousness, and allowed the philosopher to run away with the poet by making his peasant folk think and speak as though they were adepts in the system of Spinoza, with which Auerbach himself, being of Jewish birth and having been educated to be a rabbi, was intimately familiar.  On the whole, however, the lasting impression we obtain from Auerbach’s literary work remains a very pleasant one—­that of a rich and characteristic life, sound to the core, vigorous and buoyant.

Not as a writer of village stories—­for in the portrayal of the rustic population, as such, he was not concerned—­but in his basic purpose of holding up nature, pure and holy, as an ideal, Adalbert Stifter (1805-1868), an Austrian, must be assigned a place of honor in this group.  A more incisive contrast to the general turbulence of the forties could hardly be imagined than is found in the nature descriptions and idyls of this quietist, who “from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife” sought refuge in the stillness of the country and among people to whom such outward peace is a physical necessity.