Effi Briest - in simple language: based on plain language
About this audiobook
Theodor Fontane's best-known novel is published in simple language for the first time.
Theodor Fontane‘s best-known novel is published in simple language for the first time. It largely complies with the ISO 24495-1:2023 plain language standard. We have also largely adapted it for plain language. The audiobook is suitable for listeners with limited reading ability, English as a second language, or with cognitive impairments. This means that as many people as possible can enjoy listening to and understanding one of Germany‘s most famous novels.
aibo publishing produces the World Literature series in simple and plain language. The first publications generated a media response across Europe, including in the FAZ and The Times London, and, according to the NZZ, triggered a “culture war”.
“Effi Briest“ is about love and freedom. A young woman is married at an early age. She is torn between her feelings and the strict rules of society. Her curiosity and zest for life are her destiny. She is caught between two men. They fight a duel. This is no longer in keeping with the times. But they don‘t know better.
The novel is set in 19th-century Germany. It can be compared to the Russian novel “Anna Karenina“ or the French „Madame Bovary“. “Effi Briest“ became world-famous and was often made into a film. Theodor Fontane is considered a representative of poetic realism.
About the author
Theodor Fontane was born on December 30, 1819. His father was a pharmacist. His parents had ancestors from France. His grandfather was a painter, music teacher, and castle manager.
Theodor grew up in Neuruppin. He had six siblings. His father had debts from gambling. He sold the pharmacy in the town. Later, he bought a smaller pharmacy in Swinemünde.
From 1832 to 1833, Fontane attended a grammar school in Neuruppin. Then, he went to a trade school in Berlin. In 1835, he met Emilie Rouanet-Kummer. She later became his wife.
In 1836, he stopped attending the trade school. He then learned at the pharmacy "Zum weißen Schwan" in Berlin. He also worked in the military. After his apprenticeship, he was an assistant pharmacist in Burg near Magdeburg in 1840.
In 1841, he became ill with typhus. He recovered at his parents' home in Letschin. After that, he worked in several pharmacies. In 1845, he returned to Berlin and worked at the Polish Pharmacy. On December 8, 1845, he got engaged to Emilie Rouanet-Kummer.
From April 1844 to March 1845, he served in the military. At the end, he was a sergeant. During this time, he made a trip to England.
In March 1847, Fontane worked at a pharmacy in Berlin. He also fought as a revolutionary on the streets. During this time, he wrote four articles for a Berlin newspaper. Later, Fontane worked at the Bethanien hospital.
He wrote his first story in 1839. He also wrote poems. He joined writing clubs in Leipzig until 1865, which brought him recognition.
On September 30, 1849, Fontane quit his job as a pharmacist to focus on writing. He wrote political articles for a newspaper in Dresden. That year, his first book "Men and Heroes. Eight Prussian Songs" was published.
In 1850, Fontane married his fiancée. Fontane and Emilie moved to Berlin. He initially struggled to find work and they had little money. In 1851, they had a son. Their next three sons died as babies. They had a total of five children.
From 1851 to 1865, Fontane worked for the "New Prussian Newspaper". The newspaper sent him to London as a journalist. He lived there from 1855 to 1859. He was the first to report to Germans about the Pre-Raphaelites, a new art movement.
In 1858, a new king came to power in Prussia. Fontane hoped for more freedom and returned to Berlin. He couldn't find a new job at a newspaper, so he wrote about travels. In 1861, he published the book "County of Ruppin". A year later, a second edition titled "Wanderings through the Mark Brandenburg" was published.
In 1864, Fontane traveled to Copenhagen to write about wars. From 1870, he wrote about theater. He then went to Paris, where he was mistaken for a spy and imprisoned. He wrote a book about this experience.
From 1874 to 1876, Fontane traveled with his wife to Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. After that, he only wrote books, which caused problems in his marriage.
In 1892, he became very melancholic, possibly due to too much morphine. His daughter Martha took care of him. He wrote three more novels and some autobiographical works. Theodor Fontane died on September 20, 1898, in Berlin.
Dr. Patrick Krause (born 1965) is a journalist, author, and publisher.
"Writes like Charlie Parker plays," said Dr. Wolfgang Stock from Econ Verlag.
During his philosophy studies, he worked as a copywriter. After his Ph.D. in 1998, he founded his own publishing company for customer magazines, worked as a journalist, ghostwriter, and creative director, and wrote travel guides and children's books. From 2010, Krause was a culture editor and from 2015, editor-in-chief of the lifestyle travel magazine QVEST. Simultaneously, he completed several therapy and coaching training courses. His openness and diverse interests led Patrick Krause around the world and to well-known interview partners. Often, pure curiosity turns into passion, an idea, and a text. Krause plays drums in workshops with professional musicians and hopes for numerous gigs in his old age.
Andreas Stobbe was born in 1968.
He is a digital entrepreneur and designer.
In the 1990s, he founded his own company during his studies. Since 1996, he has been working in the digital field. In the same year, he founded the company reality bytes. This company became one of the top 50 internet companies in Germany. From 2016, he sold parts of his company to the TWT Digital Agency Group. This group belongs to the Greven Group and the Irene and Sigurd Greven Foundation. Until 2024, he merged his company with other companies, forming TWT Growth, which now has more than 120 employees.
Andreas Stobbe has a son with autism. He is committed to improving learning opportunities for people with disabilities, especially in making world literature accessible to them.
