Every novel and novella by Theodor Fontane
The top 3 according to 304 votes from people: Grete Minde (1880) · Vor dem Sturm (1878) · L’Adultera (1882). (Updated Mar 13, 2025.)
Fontane only began writing novels when he was almost sixty: from Before the Storm (1878) to The Stechlin (1899), he produced a body of work that made him the leading figure of German poetic realism. Here are all his novels and novellas in order of first book publication, including Irrungen, Wirrungen, Frau Jenny Treibel and Effi Briest.
Automatically translated (original in Deutsch). See the original
Top 18
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1
Grete Minde (1880)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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2
Vor dem Sturm (1878)
Fontane's first novel, published when he was nearly 60.
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3
L’Adultera (1882)
His first novel of Berlin society.
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4
Ellernklipp (1881)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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5
Graf Petöfy (1884)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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6
Schach von Wuthenow (1883)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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7
Irrungen, Wirrungen (1888)
The love affair between the seamstress Lene and the officer Botho.
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8
Quitt (1891)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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9
Unterm Birnbaum (1885)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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10
Cécile (1887)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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11
Stine (1890)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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12
Der Stechlin (1899)
His last novel, published in book form shortly after his death.
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13
Unwiederbringlich (1892)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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14
Mathilde Möhring (1908)
Published posthumously from his papers.
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15
Frau Jenny Treibel (1893)
A satire of the Berlin bourgeoisie.
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16
Effi Briest (1896)
His most famous novel, about a young woman destroyed by her marriage and by society.
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17
Die Poggenpuhls (1896)
Novel by Theodor Fontane.
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18
Meine Kinderjahre (1894)
Memories of his childhood in Swinemünde.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (10)
Effi Briest war Schullektüre und damals hab ich es gehasst. Mit 40 nochmal gelesen und es ist einfach großartig.
Frau Jenny Treibel ist so bissig, das könnte auch heute in Berlin-Mitte spielen.
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Schach von Wuthenow fehlt mir in den Lehrplänen, viel besser als man denkt
Der Stechlin wird total unterschätzt. Kaum Handlung, aber diese Gespräche!
Unterm Birnbaum als Krimi ist echt spannend, das hätte ich von Fontane nicht erwartet.
irrungen wirrungen >>> effi briest, sorry not sorry
Na ja, «das ist ein weites Feld», würde Briest sagen. Ich find die Liste zu brav, Mathilde Möhring hätte mehr Aufmerksamkeit verdient.
Effi Briest 📚❤️
Fontane mit fast 60 angefangen Romane zu schreiben… es gibt also noch Hoffnung für uns alle xD