Keller, Gottfried "Novellas"

Keller, Gottfried "Novellas" (German: Novellen) - 1855/56

"Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe" (Goodreads) (A Village Romeo and Juliet) - 1855/56 (Goodreads)
"Die drei gerechten Kammacher" (Goodreads) (The Three Decent Combmakers) - 1856 (Goodreads)
"Kleider machen Leute" (Goodreads) (Clothes Make the Man) - 1874 (Goodreads)
"Dietegen" (Goodreads) (Dietegen) - 1874 (Goodreads)
"Das Fähnlein der sieben Aufrechten"(Goodreads) (The Banner of the Upright Seven) - 1860 (Goodreads)
"Die Berlocken" - 1881 (in "Sinngedicht") (Goodreads)
"Der schlimm-heilige Vitalis" - 1872 (Goodreads)
"Das Tanzlegendchen" - 1872 (Booklooker)

Only a few of them have been translated into English:

This was a collection of stories by Gottfried Keller, a Swiss writer of novellas and his literary realism in the 19th century.

This book has been on my TBR pile for a while. After reading it, I also understand why. It's just outdated. Not just the writing, the views, as well. In addition, many stories are "copied". "Romeo and Juliet in the Village" already says it in the title, "Clothes Make the Man", one might also guess, is based on the fairy tale "Puss in Boots", only this time there is no cat involved. It took me a while to read the tome, but I didn't really enjoy any of the stories, even though they are supposedly humorous.

Here are the descriptions of the four novellas that have been translated:

"Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe" (Goodreads) (A Village Romeo and Juliet) - 1855/56 (Goodreads)

"Love is necessarily an important element in all imaginative literature, but with Gottfried Keller it does not overshadow all other aspects of life. Great passion we do not find in his works. In 'A Village Romeo and Juliet,' it is not ill-consuming love that makes the two young people seek death, but the bitter realization of life's law, as they understood it, which made it impossible for them ever to be united. The story is a fine illustration of what a great artist may make out of his raw material. Keller had read in a newspaper a report of the suicide of two young people, the sort of tragedy that we may read almost daily in newspapers; he seized upon the possibilities of the situation and the result was this story, perhaps the best he ever wrote.

Gottfried Keller (1819-1890) was one of the foremost Swiss novelists and one of the most original figures of German literature since Goethe, a master of style worthy to be classed with the great names of all ages. (John Albrecht Walz)"

"Kleider machen Leute" (Goodreads) (Clothes Make the Man) - 1874 (Goodreads)

"Wenzel is a penniless tailor of Seldwyla who - because of the luxurious suit he has made for himself - is mistaken for a young lord when arriving in a Swiss town. The tailor is feted by the townsfolk and attracts the attention of a high-born young woman."

"Das Fähnlein der sieben Aufrechten"(Goodreads) (The Banner of the Upright Seven) - 1860 (Goodreads)

"The seventeen-year-old beauty delivered this speech in an apparently cold and matter-of-fact tone, at the same time picking up her oars and heading for the shore. Karl rowed beside her full of anxiety and apprehension, and no less full of vexation at Hermine's words. She was half glad to know that the hot-headed fellow had something to worry about."

"Die drei gerechten Kammacher" (Goodreads) (The Three Decent Combmakers) - 1856 (Goodreads)

"Story of the three journeyman carpenters, who all did the right thing and therefore could not exist side by side."