The Dwarf of Westerbourg

by Christian Heinrich Spieß

A translation of DAS PETERMANNCHEN, his most popular work, a romantic thriller and ghost story set in the thirteenth century, first published in Prague in 1791-1792. "Spiess's romances were popular objects of English translation during the Gothic period and were adored for their fabulous medievalism." - Tymn, Horror Literature 1-370. Spiess (1755-1799) ". died [at the age of 44], almost insane, the result of his weird fancies . Spiess, in his Ritter-, Räuber- and Geister-Romane, as they are called -- stories of knights, robbers and ghosts of the 'dark' ages -- the idea of which he borrowed from Goethe's Götz von Berlichingen and Schiller's Räuber and Der Geisterseher, was the founder of the German Schauerroman (shocker), a style of writing continued, though in a finer vein, by Carl Gottlob Cramer (1758-1817) and by Goethe's brother-in-law, Christian August Vulpius. These stories, though appealing largely to the vulgar taste, made Spiess one of the most widely read authors of his day." - Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. XXV, p. 667. In his preface, the anonymous translator speculates that the present work may have provided a model for Lewis's THE MONK (1796). "John Christian Spietz" was identified later as an anglicization of Christian Heinrich Spiess. The title of this translation takes similar liberties with the German original (which means "Little Peter," referring to the story's hero).

Genres: Gothic, Fiction, Speculative Fiction

249 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1791

About the author

Christian Heinrich Spieß (1755 - 1799) was a German actor, dramatist, and writer of romances.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

English review below ⬇️ (English version of the book is called „The Dwarf of Westerbourg“)
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German review:
Kurz zum Inhalt: Eine mittelalterlich angehauchte Schauergeschichte über den Ritter Rudolph aus dem Geschlecht der Westerburgs und Geisterwesen, die an dieses Geschlecht gebunden sind. Eine Geschichte über den Preis der Verführung – ein Widerstreit von Unschuld und Sünde. 👻 🖤

Laut dem Autor Christian Heinrich Spieß soll die Erzählung illustrieren, wie schnell ein einmal falsch eingeschlagener Weg zur Verdammnis führen kann. 😈⬅️ 👣 ➡️👼🏻 Meines Erachtens ist ihm das auf eine geniale Weise gelungen, indem er dem schicksalhaften Handlungsstrang etwas Tragisch-Komisches verleiht. Der Roman verkörpert das Prinzip des Wahnsinns, nach welchem der derart definiert wird, dass es Wahnsinn ist, immer wieder das Gleiche tun und ein anderes Ergebnis zu erwarten, was der Leitsatz dieses Romans zu sein scheint 😂 Es ist teils wirklich schmerzhaft diesem Prozess mitzuverfolgen 🫣😅 aber auch spannend die Motive der Geister hinter diesem Treiben zu ergründen, die ersten in den letzten Seiten aufgedeckt werden und man lange Zeit rätseln muss, wer gut und wer böse repräsentiert – und warum☺️ 🖤

Gesamt: 4,7 🌟🌟
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English review:
Brief summary: A medieval-inspired gothic story about the knight Rudolph from the Westerburg family and ghosts bound to this family. A story of repeated seduction and the resulting vices and sins – a conflict between innocence and guilt. 👻 🖤

According to author Christian Heinrich Spieß, the story illustrates how quickly a wrong turn can lead to damnation. 😈⬅️ 👣 ➡️👼🏻 In my opinion, he has succeeded in doing this brilliantly by adding a tragicomic element to the fateful plot. The novel embodies the principle of insanity, which is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, which seems to be the guiding principle of this novel 😂 It is sometimes really painful to follow this process 🫣😅 but it is also exciting to explore the motives of the ghosts behind these goings-on, which are revealed in the last few pages, leaving you guessing for a long time who represents good and who represents evil - and why☺️ 🖤

Overall: 4.7 🌟🌟

[Vultural · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spiess, Christian Heinrich - The Dwarf Of Westerbourg

Good knight Rudolph comes into his inheritance, which includes a magical dwarf who has been advising and serving the Westerbourg crest for centuries.
Rudolph is an earnest knight, more concerned with tournaments and conflicts, than romance.
The dwarf, Peter, gradually shifts his eye towards the fairer sex, those of pure innocence.
From then on, Rudolph steps down an ever steepening slope, pursuing and possessing the virtuous.
Maiden after maiden, each displacing the other in terms of unequaled beauty.
Time and again, Rudolph has moral arguments with himself, yet – to be honest dear reader – he has the resolve (and IQ) of a biscuit.
An incredibly funny book, roaring with adventures, swinging from macabre to preposterous.
Influential on Lewis’ “The Monk” and Radcliffe’s “The Mysteries Of Udolpho.”