Author: Heinrich von Kleist

Heinrich von Kleist was born in 1777 into a Prussian military family in Frankfurt an der Oder. He entered the army at a young age, serving in a Guards regiment under the Duke of Brunswick. He later studied law and philosophy in his hometown before doing clerical work for the Ministry of Finance in Berlin. Kleist wrote poetry, philosophical essays, plays, short stories and novellas, most famously Michael Kohlhaas and The Marquise of O—.