Hans Dieter Stöver

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Hans Dieter Stöver (born December 13, 1937 in Wissen / Sieg; † January 22, 2020 ) was a German writer and author of numerous novels, non-fiction and youth books, mainly on topics from Roman history .

Life

Stöver studied education , history, art history and classical studies in Bonn and Cologne. He worked temporarily as a teacher, wrote radio plays and features for historical and cultural-historical series as an employee of the WDR and most recently lived as a freelance writer near Cologne. With his historical novels and non-fiction books, he tried to bring Roman history closer to young people in particular. His first monograph was the non-fiction book The Romans - Tacticians of Power (1976). It was followed by the novel Spartacus - Sklave und Rebell (1977) and other non-fiction books. After a series of historical detective novels, Stöver published his first book for young people with Quintus Goes to Rome (1987), which was followed by numerous other works. The focus is on the last years of the Roman Republic ( Spartacus revolt / Caesar ) and the early imperial period ( Nero / Vespasian ).

Stöver universe

From a small scene in the non-fiction book Die Römer - Taktiker der Macht , Stöver developed a novel about the historical figure of Spartacus , in which he also introduced the (essentially historical) family of the Volcatier (or Volcacier, best-known representative: Lucius Volcacius Tullus ) . He wrote a series of ten detective novels (time frame: the last years of Caesar in Gaul, i.e. about twenty years after Spartacus) about the (also historical) person of Gaius Volcatius Tullus, who Stöver then interpreted as the son of Lucius, which is linked to the Spartacus novel through three people. Originally, Gaius was created as the son of Spartacus according to the fictitious genealogy of the gens Volcatia (reproduced in the appendix to the Spartacus novel) .

Stöver's first three youth novels about the young Quintus Cossinius Afer follow on from the last crime novels. A personal link is given by the figure of Gaius Volcatius Tullus in the first volume. Stöver's three youngest novels about Daniel and Esther (settled after the Jewish war Vespasians, i.e. about one hundred and twenty years after the aforementioned stories) are linked to the Quintus novels in the second volume about descendants of the same name by Quintus and his former employer Pollius.

In a broader sense, even if not explicitly confirmed, the people from the narrative parts of the non-fiction book Report from Roman times are also linked to this Stöver universe: father and grandfather of Atto, the ancestor of the Germanic ( Ubic ) family discussed , are “all in Roman service since the great Caesar sixty years ago ”. This points in time to the figure of the (fictional) young Ubier prince Frei-Atto in the seventh C.-V.-T. volume, to whom further appearances were intended (in the final sentence of the novel: "we will meet him there again sometime"), which was omitted due to the termination of the C.-V.-T. series.

The novel Haldavo Rises is linked directly to the stories in the aforementioned non-fiction book through the main character of Haldavo, a descendant of Atto.

Works

  • Non-fiction books:
    • The Romans. Tactician of Power (1976)
    • Conspiracy against Rome. Catilina's Reach for Power (1979)
    • Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. Their Background and Consequences (1982)
    • Power and Money in Ancient Rome (1989)
    • Report from Roman times. Life in Roman Germania (together with Michael Gechter, 1989)
    • The Praetorians. Emperor Makers - Emperor Murderers (1994)
    • The victory over Varus. The Teutons against the world power Rome (2009)
  • Novels:
    • Spartacus. Slave and Rebel (1977)
    • The last bishop. A Totally Impious Legend (1980)
    • Murder on the Appian Way. (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 1) (1982)
    • The senator's wife. (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 2) (1982)
      • Both of the above volumes in a revised version as double volume 2008
    • I demand justice (the original title "Ich klage an" could no longer be used for reasons of title protection). (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 3) (1982)
    • Nausicaa scandal. (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 4) (1983)
      • Both of the above volumes in a revised version as a double volume 2009 ( I am suing now udT: I demand justice )
    • Alexander and the Gladiators. (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 5) (1983)
    • Assassination attempt in Pompeii. (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 6) (1984)
      • Both of the above volumes in a revised version as double volume 2010
    • The betrayal of Ambiorix. (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 7) (1984)
    • Rebellion in the Circus Maximus. (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 8) (1985)
      • Both of the above volumes in a revised version as double volume 2011
    • Death on the forum. (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 9) (1985)
    • Deadly dose. (CVT in the service of the Caesars. 10) (1986)
      • Both of the above volumes in a revised version as double volume 2012
    • Agon or the Ring of Demetrios (1989)
    • Haldavo rises. An Ubier in Roman Cologne (1990)
    • Murder after the performance. (A Case for Tillia Capriola) (1998)
    • Murderous race. (A Case for Tillia Capriola) (1999)
  • Youth novels:
    • Quintus goes to Rome (1987)
    • Quintus in Peril (1991)
    • Quintus prevails (1993)
    • The Varus Files (1991)
    • The Nero Case (1992), new edition: When Rome Burned
    • Caesar and the Gaul (1994)
    • The Roman Wonder of the World (1995)
    • The Triton's Last Ride (1998)
    • Daniel and Esther - alone in Rome (2001)
    • Daniel and Esther - The Secret of the Vestal Virgin (2002)
    • Daniel and Esther - The Decision (2004)
  • Youth books:
    • Three days in Rome. Rural and Urban Life in Caesar's Time (1988)
    • Great opponents of Rome. Hannibal, Mithridates, Spartacus, Vercingetorix, Arminius (1989)
    • ... then I'll go to the emperor! A story from the time of Hadrian (1992)

literature

  • Stefanie Eichler: 'conscientious objector' in ancient Rome. The reception of the Bellum Gallicum in H.-D. Stövers Caesar and the Gauls . In: Kai Brodersen (ed.): The ancient world outside the lecture hall . Lit-Verlag, Münster 2003, pp. 97-114, ISBN 3-8258-6852-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. March 2nd, 2020 - Mourning for Hans Dieter Stöver. Bocola Verlag GmbH, accessed on March 5, 2020 .
  2. a b c The differences between the so-called youth non-fiction books from the original publisher and the youth novels are marginal and fluid. In both cases it is a matter of narratives with an appendix (in the case of Great Adversaries of Rome several narratives). The non-fiction book Report from Roman times also consists of several narratives with factual explanations inserted between the individual stories. In the non-fiction book The Victory Over Varus , the 24 so-called scenes take up about two fifths of the book.