The Berlin writer Theodor Fontane (1819-1898) earned a European reputation for the German novel, something his fellow poetic realists and their predecessors had failed to do. L'Adultera (1882), a Gesellschaftsroman, is the first of the writer's Berlin novels. Already in this early work, Fontane employs his considerable skills as a realist and impartial observer of nineteenth-century German life. Lynn R. Eliason captures in this major translation the wit, irony and warm human interaction characteristic of Fontane's mature novels, including his well known Effi Briest. An introductory essay identifies L'Adultera in terms of the writer's life and literary artistry.
"At a time when Berlin is designated once more the capital of Germany it seems very appropriate to publish in the US a work of Fontane, astute observer and realistic depicter of 19th-century Berlin, especially since the protagonists of this novel are shown as living in the 'capital'." (H.Brockhaus, Choice) "Die Uebersetzung lässt sich flüssig und mit Genuss lesen. Wenn es stimmt, dass es einem Uebersetzer möglichst gelingen sollte, die gleiche Wirkung auf den Leser zu erzielen wie es das Original tun würde, dann muss gesagt werden, dass es ihm hier gelungen ist." (Helen Chambers, Fontane Blätter)