Eugénie oder Die Bürgerzeit

Eugénie oder Die Bürgerzeit, a novel by H. Mann, published in 1928. It is set in Lübeck not long after the War of 1870 (see Deutsch-Französischer Krieg) and has a well-to-do burgher, Jürgen West, and his French wife Gabriele as principal characters. Gabriele is unsettled and tempted to yield to the advances of the adventurer Pidohn, who also persuades Jürgen into reckless speculations. A playlet concerning the fallen Emperor Napoleon III and his consort Eugénie, whom Gabriele is said to resemble, is included in the action. Its ‘author’, Heines, is a portrait of the Lübeck poet E. Geibel. Pidohn's risky operations result in his arrest. The West couple are unable to stave off financial ruin, but Gabriele is saved from elopement and they settle down, reconciled, to live in relative contentment and obscurity.