Carl Stephenson

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Carl Stephenson (born November 3, 1893 in Vienna ; † 20th century) was an Austrian - German author and publisher . He became internationally known with the novel Leiningen's Fight with the Ants , which first appeared in 1937 and was filmed in Hollywood in 1954 . He also published under the pseudonym Stefan Sorel .

Life

Carl Stephenson's first parents emigrated from Schleswig-Holstein to America , but his grandparents had already returned to Europe . They had settled in Vienna, where Carl Stephenson was born on November 3, 1893. After finishing school, he worked as a bookseller in Vienna, Leipzig and Berlin before and after the First World War .

Then he founded the Carl Stephenson Verlag and from 1921 lived as a publisher in Vienna and Berlin. Contemporary authors published by Carl Stephenson Verlag included Egon Roland , Waldemar Bonsels , Alfred Rottauscher , Julius Stettenheim , Bruno Wolfgang , Frank Heller , Bruno Prochaska , Heinz Lederer , Wendelin Überzwerch , Ernest Henthaler and Eduard Pötzl .

In addition, classics such as Franz Grillparzer , Théophile Gautier , some works by Mark Twain and ETA Hoffmann's Die Serapionsbrüder (1923) or Laurence Sterne's Life and Opinions of Mr. Tristram Shandy (1939) were also part of the publishing program. In the early days of his publishing house in particular, Carl Stephenson also published a number of books on the history of literature, music and art, including Das Taghorn. Poems and melodies of the Bavarian-Austrian minnesang (1922) and an early study on Erich Wolfgang Korngold by Rudolf Stephan Hoffmann (1922) as well as writings by Leopold Mozart and Theodor von Frimmel .

Finally, in addition to this publishing activity, there was also a writing activity. In 1924 Stephenson published the Tarzan parody Tarzan has dreamed in his publishing house under the pseudonym Stefan Sorel ! In 1926 he gave critical consideration to Tarzan the German eater. A study on hate speech followed. Due to an extended illness, Stephenson then withdrew from any business activity to Berlin for around a decade. The entire publishing stock of Carl Stephenson Verlag at that time - a base of 13 works - was taken over by Fritz Stein (1889–1961), who thus founded his own publishing house. Stein had been the owner or silent partner of "Carl Stephenson Verlag" together with Stephenson since August 1, 1922 and was entered in the commercial register as an authorized signatory . Because of Stephenson's illness, they had both reached an agreement, according to which Stephenson sold his previous publishing stock to Stein. The previous publishing company, however, remained in the hands of Stephensons, and he was able to reactivate them in due course with the publication of new works.

That happened in 1937, when Carl Stephenson was again active as a publisher of primarily lighter, humorous-satirical literature. He was also active again as a writer. For his novella Leiningen's fight with the ants , he received a prize in a narrative competition organized by the monthly magazine die neue linie in 1937 . The story of the German farmer Leiningen, who takes up the battle with army ants in Brazil , made him known internationally and has since been used primarily as school reading . A radio play adaptation appeared in 1948, and in 1954 a film was made under the direction of Byron Haskin with the title When the Marabunta threatens (The Naked Jungle) . Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker appeared in the leading roles . In 1956, Stephenson let his popular character again in the novel Messengers of Hell. Experience Leiningen's fight with the wilderness exciting adventures.

But in 1954 Stephenson had withdrawn from the publishing business, but continued to work as a journalist. Another success was the selection he put together, The Most Beautiful Poems from Eight Centuries. For school and home (first in 1960), which has since seen several editions.

The “Carl Stephenson Verlag”, newly founded in the early 1960s by the Flensburg mail order company Beate Uhse , has no connection with the former publisher apart from the name and focuses on the publication of erotic literature and relevant advice. According to its own information, it is today (2009) the second largest publisher in Schleswig-Holstein .

Works

Publications under his own name

  • The crown of creation. Cheerful revelations . Vienna, Berlin and Leipzig 1937 (with drawings by Leo Friedrich ; several editions)
  • Leiningen's fight with the ants. Novella . 1937 (several editions)
  • With lipstick and lip poison. A cheerful advisor for and against women . Berlin 1940 (with drawings by Eva Kongsbak ; 5th edition 1948)
  • as editor of Claude Tillier : Mein Unkel Benjamin (original title: Mon oncle Benjamin ). Berlin 1942
  • Riots in the pampas . Small youth series (5th year 1954, issue 3 [= 37]). Berlin 1954
  • Messengers of hell. Leiningen's battle with the wild . Berlin 1956
  • Marabunta. Amazon adventure . Einsiedeln, Zurich and Cologne 1958
  • as compiler: The most beautiful poems from eight centuries. For school and home . Berlin-Schöneberg 1960 (several editions)
  • as editor: The great puzzle lexicon. Guide for puzzle lovers . Berlin-Schöneberg 1961
  • as a compiler: The most beautiful ballads for school and home . Berlin-Schöneberg 1962
  • as editor of Adolph von Knigge : About dealing with people . Berlin and Munich 1966
  • as editor: The big book of games for young and old . Berlin-Schöneberg 1967 (with drawings by Traute Richter and others)

Publications under the pseudonym "Stefan Sorel"

  • Hunt through the afterlife , Vienna 1922
  • Tarzan dreamed! The Tarzan parody , Vienna 1924
  • Honoré de Balzac : Of girls, monks and other inappropriate things ( Les Contes drolatiques ) - German adaptation in the series Die Lustigen Bücher (Volume 5), Vienna 1924
  • Tarzan the German eater. A study on sedition , Berlin 1926

literature

  • Heinz-Günther Pflughaupt: Epilogue to Leiningen's fight with the ants. Novella . Hamburg reading books (issue 198). Hamburger-Leshefte-Verlag, Husum / Nordsee 2007, ISBN 978-3-87291-197-1 , pp. 31–32 (32 pages).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Heinz-Günther Pflughaupt: Epilogue to Leiningen's fight with the ants. Novella . Hamburger-Reading Books-Verlag, Husum / Nordsee 2007, p. 31
  2. ^ History of the Stein publishing house (Vienna-Leipzig-Lübeck) in Österreichische Verlagsgeschichte 1918–1938
  3. ↑ Information on Carl Stephenson Verlag on the Orion Group's website ; Retrieved August 5, 2009
personal data
SURNAME Stephenson, Carl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-German author and publisher
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH 20th century