Jean Paul was born at
Wunsiedel, then under the
Principality of Bayreuth, in the
Fichtel Mountains (
Franconia). His father was an
organist at Wunsiedel. In 1765 his father became a pastor at
Joditz near
Hof and, in 1767 at
Schwarzenbach, but he died on 25 April 1779, leaving the family in great poverty. Later in life, Jean Paul noted, "The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but as in
whispering-galleries, they are clearly heard at the end and by posterity." After attending the
Gymnasium at Hof, in 1781 Jean Paul went to the
University of Leipzig. His original intention was to enter his father's profession, but theology did not interest him, and he soon devoted himself wholly to the study of literature. Unable to maintain himself at Leipzig he returned in 1784 to Hof, where he lived with his mother. From 1787 to 1789, he served as a tutor at
Töpen, a village near Hof; and from 1790 to 1794, he taught the children of several families in a school he had founded in nearby
Schwarzenbach. Jean Paul began his career as a man of letters with
Grönländische Prozesse ("
Greenland Lawsuits"), published anonymously in Berlin in 1783–84, and
Auswahl aus des Teufels Papieren ("Selections from the Devil's Papers", signed J. P. F. Hasus), published in 1789. These works were not received with much favour, and in later life even their author had little sympathy for their satirical tone. Jean Paul's outlook was profoundly altered by a spiritual crisis he suffered on 15 November 1790, in which he had a vision of his own death. His next book,
Die unsichtbare Loge ("The Invisible Lodge"), a romance published in 1793 under the pen-name Jean Paul (in honour of
Jean-Jacques Rousseau), had all the qualities that were soon to make him famous, and its power was immediately recognized by some of the best critics of the day. Encouraged by the reception of
Die unsichtbare Loge, Richter composed a number of books in rapid succession:
Leben des vergnügten Schulmeisterleins Maria Wutz in Auenthal ("Life of the Cheerful Schoolmaster Maria Wutz", 1793), the best-selling
Hesperus (1795), which made him famous,
Biographische Belustigungen unter der Gehirnschale einer Riesin ("Biographical Recreations under the Brainpan of a Giantess", 1796),
Leben des Quintus Fixlein ("Life of Quintus Fixlein", 1796),
Der Jubelsenior ("The Parson in Jubilee", 1797), and
Das Kampaner Tal ("The Valley of Campan", 1797). Also among these was the novel
Siebenkäs in 1796–97.
Siebenkäs' slightly
supernatural theme, involving a
Doppelgänger and
pseudocide, stirred some controversy over its interpretation of the
Resurrection, but these criticisms served only to draw awareness to the author. This series of writings assured Richter a place in German literature, and during the rest of his life every work he produced was welcomed by a wide circle of admirers. After his mother's death in 1797, Richter went to
Leipzig, and in the following year, to
Weimar, where he started work on his most ambitious novel,
Titan, published between 1800 and 1803. Richter became friends with such Weimar notables as
Johann Gottfried Herder, by whom he was warmly appreciated, but despite their close proximity, Richter never became close to
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe or
Friedrich Schiller, both of whom found his literary methods repugnant; but in Weimar, as elsewhere, his remarkable conversational powers and his genial manners made him a favorite in general society. The British writers
Thomas Carlyle and
Thomas De Quincey took an interest in Jean Paul's work. and unveiled in 1841 on the 16th anniversary of Richter's death In 1801, he married Caroline Meyer, whom he had met in Berlin the year before. They lived first at
Meiningen, then at
Coburg; and finally, in 1804, they settled at
Bayreuth. Here Richter spent a quiet, simple, and happy life, constantly occupied with his work as a writer. In 1808 he was delivered from anxiety about outward necessities by Prince Primate
Karl Theodor von Dalberg, who gave him an annual pension of 1,000 florins, which was later continued by the king of Bavaria. Jean Paul's
Titan was followed by
Flegeljahre ("The Awkward Age", 1804–5). His later imaginative works were
Dr Katzenbergers Badereise ("Dr Katzenberger's Trip to the Medicinal Springs", 1809),
Des Feldpredigers Schmelzle Reise nach Flätz ("Army Chaplain Schmelzle's Voyage to Flätz", 1809),
Leben Fibels ("Life of Fibel", 1812), and
Der Komet, oder Nikolaus Marggraf ("The Comet, or, Nikolaus Markgraf", 1820–22). In
Vorschule der Aesthetik ("Introduction to Aesthetics", 1804) he expounded his ideas on art; he discussed the principles of education in
Levana, oder Erziehlehre ("Levana, or, Pedagogy", 1807); and the opinions suggested by current events he set forth in
Friedenspredigt ("Peace Sermon", 1808),
Dämmerungen für Deutschland ("Twilights for Germany", 1809),
Mars und Phöbus Thronwechsel im J. 1814; eine scherzhafte Flugschrift ("Mars and Phoebus Exchange Thrones in the Year 1814; a Comic
Pamphlet", 1814), and
Politische Fastenpredigten ("Political Lenten Sermons", 1817). In his last years he began
Wahrheit aus Jean Pauls Leben ("The Truth from Jean Paul's Life"), to which additions from his papers and other sources were made after his death by C. Otto and E. Förster. Also during this time he supported the younger writer
E. T. A. Hoffmann, who long counted Richter among his influences. Richter wrote the preface to
Fantasy Pieces, a collection of Hoffmann's short stories published in 1814. In September 1821 Jean Paul lost his only son, Max, a youth of the highest promise; and he never quite recovered from this shock. He lost his sight in 1824, and died of
dropsy at Bayreuth, on 14 November 1825. ==Characteristics of his work==