Roessler, Carl

views updated

ROESSLER, CARL

ROESSLER, CARL (pseudonym of Franz Ressner ; 1864–1948), Austrian playwright, author, and actor. Roessler was born in Vienna and joined the Elf Scharfrichter group, which created the "Ueberbrettl" satirical theater, of which the dramatist Frank Wedekind was also a member. For a short while he was a free-lance writer in Munich. Roessler wrote a number of successful plays but is mainly remembered for his comedy, Die fuenf Frankfurter (1912), set in the Frankfurt Judengasse. Roessler also wrote two novels, Die drei Niemandskinder (1926) and Wellen des Eros (1928). After the Austrian Anschluss in 1938, Roessler settled in London.

bibliography:

J. Bab, Theater der Gegenwart (1928), 116. add. bibliography: P.-P. Schneider, "'Beinahe eine Inventaraufnahme.' Die Briefe Heinrich Manns an Carl Roessler 1939–1946," in: Literaturmagazin, 21 (1988) 39–55.

[Samuel L. Sumberg]