- Rudolf Erich Raspe
Rudolf Erich Raspe (March 1736 – November 1794) was a German librarian, writer and scientist, and he was called by his biographer John Carswell a "rogue". He is best known for his collection of tall tales: "
The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen ", originally a satirical work with political aims.Raspe was born in
Hanover , studied law and jurisprudence at Göttingen and Leipzig and worked as a librarian for the university of Göttingen. Since 1767 he was responsible for some collections ofFrederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), before having to flee toEngland in 1775 after pilfering some gems that were supposedly in his care. He was employed byMatthew Boulton in the mines ofCornwall , and he was also publishing in geology and in the history of art. He also worked for the famous publisher John Nichols in several projects. In 1791 he moved toScotland , and after an involvement in a mining swindle there, he left. He finally moved toIreland where he managed a copper mine on the Herbert Estate. He died inKillarney ,County Kerry , oftyphoid , in November 1794.The
Baron Munchausen tales were made famous when they were 'borrowed', translated into German, and embellished somewhat byGottfried August Bürger in 1786 - and have been a favourite read of subsequent generations, as well as the basis of several films, includingTerry Gilliam 's "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen ".External links
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**Project Gutenberg e-text of " [http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=3154 The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen] "
* (Munchausen-Library [http://www.munchausen.org/en/index_en.htm] )
* [http://camborne-old-cornwall-society.cornovia.org.uk/hist_accs/raspe01.html Rodolph Eric Raspe, by Robert Hunt, 1885]
*worldcat id|lccn-n83-41816
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