A focus of the publications by Friedrich-Maerker-Verlag is on retellings of classics. Classics are crucial for the cultural understanding of language; they reflect our current understanding of ourselves based on history and culture. The following German classics have been retold bz D.S. Felix so far: Goethe’s Faust, Lessing’s Nathan the Wise, Schiller’s Robber, Eichendorf’s Good-for-nothing, Storm’s Schimmelreiter and Keller’s Clothes Make the Man. There are also retellings of fairy tales.
What are classics?
Classics of literature are works that have proven to be groundbreaking and exemplary. Further characteristics are that the works are often viewed nationally and over centuries as high quality and worthy of tradition. The focus is on the value for society. Topics such as good and evil, science, justice, progress and tradition, family and growing up or even religion are often discussed. In short, these are works that explore the values of our society and culture.
Why should you read the classics today?
Why is it still worth reading classics? Well, that’s easy to tell: literary works that deal with society’s values and the problems resulting from them help with personal confrontation with them. Every country has its own and every culture has its specific classics.
Why are there retellings?
Even if the classics are common knowledge and their content is known, their creation often dates back a long time, and language is something that changes, which often makes the original texts difficult to access. In order to make it easier to understand and enable younger readers to access it, there are various retellings or updated versions. The Friedrich-Maerker-Verlag has inscribed itself in this tradition and offers its own retellings for younger readers.
The author D.S. Felix has retold various classics and edited them for the readers. This means that the retellings have an appendix with explanations of terms, characters, historical context of the time of creation and the author. But what is more important to the author is that there are questions about the text and themes. The appendix gives the reader an impulse to take a closer look at the story and to reflect on what they have read.
You can find further information about the retellings on the website, take advantage of the opportunities. The different books are presented individually in the blog and of course all books can be ordered in the shop or bought in any bookstore. Have fun reading.