Varnhagen von Ense, Karl August (Düsseldorf, 1785-1858, Berlin), a physician's son, studied at various universities, interrupting his career to serve as an officer in the Austrian army against Napoleon. He was wounded in 1809 at Wagram and afterwards served as an adjutant to Prince Bentheim. He resigned in 1812 and entered Russian service. After the war he entered the Prussian diplomatic service, serving from 1816 to 1819 in Karlsruhe.
In 1814 Varnhagen married the well-known literary hostess Rahel Levin (see below), who was fourteen years older than he, and in 1819 the couple settled in Berlin, where their apartment became a centre of literary social life. Varnhagen, who was notable for his indiscretion, made enemies as well as friends in these years. Though acquainted with many poets, he was not himself a writer of distinction. He published poems (Gedichte, 1814; Vermischte Gedichte, 1816), stories (Deutsche Erzählungen, 1815), and a novel (Die Sterner und die Psitticher, 1831). He also compiled Goethe in den Zeugnissen der Mitlebenden (1823) and Biographi-sche Denkmale (5 vols., 1824-30). His Ausgewählte Schriften (19 vols.) appeared 1870-6, his correspondence with his wife (6 vols.) 1874-5 (repr. 1967). His diaries are particularly valuable documents of his time. A liberal and keen observer of the political scene, he witnessed the revolution of 1848 (see Revolutionen 1848-9), commenting on the events leading up to it and on its consequences. His writings concerning these events appeared as Journal einer Revolution, ed. H. M. Enzensberger, in 1986, the complete diaries (14 vols.),
The Oxford Companion to German Literature. Copyright © 1976, 1986, 1997, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
