Lernet-Holenia, Alexander

▪ German writer

born Oct. 21, 1897, Vienna, Austria

died July 3, 1976, Vienna

      prolific and popular dramatist, poet, and novelist, many of whose works exhibit nostalgia for pre-World War I Austrian aristocracy. In particular, his novel Die Standarte (1934), by depicting military unrest in Serbia in 1918, illustrates the loss of authority in the disintegrating empire.

      Lernet-Holenia served as an Austrian cavalry officer in World War I. He wrote several successful plays after the war, ranging from society comedies to farces and melodrama: Österreichische Komödie (performed 1926, published 1927; “Austrian Comedy”), Ollapotrida (performed and published 1926; “Mishmash”), Erotik (performed and published 1927), Parforce (performed and published 1928; “By All Means”), Die nächtliche Hochzeit (performed 1928, published 1929, published as a novel 1930; “The Nightly Marriage”), and Die Frau des Potiphar (performed and published 1934; “Potiphar's Wife”). His poetry, including Pastorale (1921), Das Geheimnis Sankt Michaels (1927; “St. Michael's Secret”), and Die goldene Horde (1935; “The Golden Horde”), mingles the classical tradition and modern influences. During the 1930s Lernet-Holenia also wrote detective and adventure novels, included among which are Ich war Jack Mortimer (1933; “I Was Jack Mortimer”) and Die Auferstehung des Maltravers (1936; “The Resurrection of Maltraver”).

      Lernet-Holenia spent part of World War II in an army film unit. Throughout his life, except during the war years, Lernet-Holenia traveled widely and spent much time in South America.

      His later works—including the novel Prinz Eugen (1960) and the collection of short stories Mayerling (1960)—reflect a nostalgia for the old Austria.

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