Top 10 Incredible Facts about Karl May

Karl May by Erwin Raupp from Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Incredible Facts about Karl May

Karl May was an acclaimed bestseller author in Germany and beyond. He published at least 70 books and also wrote for various periodicals that he worked for.

Further, his works have been translated into over 30 languages. Also, over two hundred million copies of his books have sold across the globe.

May is famous for his adventure writings based in American Old West during the late 19^th century. Winnetou and Old Shatterhand were the protagonists in many of his travel stories.

Additionally, Karl also treated his readers to narratives set in the Eastern world as well as in the Middle East. For such he used literary characters like Kara Ben Nemsi and Hadschi Halef Omar.

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Here are the Top 10 Fascinating Realities about Karl May.

1. Karl May was born into poverty

Karl May by an Unknown author from Wikimedia Commons

May was born on 25 February 1842. His parents were weavers. His father was Heinrich August May and his mother was Wilhelmine Christiane Weise.

He was the fifth child in his family and had thirteen siblings. But nine died at the infant stage. They lived in Ernstthal which was at the time part of the Kingdom of Saxony.

2. Karl May became blind in his childhood

According to Karl’s biographical records, he was born with no physical defects. But malnutrition and poor living standards that he was a victim of caused him eyesight challenges.

In 1843, when he was about 12 months old, he became ill and lost his eyesight. He remained in bad health and was blind for four years.

When he was about four years old in 1846, his mother took him for treatment in a medical facility in Dresden. His sight was restored and his ailing body treated. Hence he was sent home to recuperate which he did overtime.

3. He trained as a teacher but never taught

Karl enrolled for teacher training in 1856 in Waldenburg. In 1859 he was expelled for theft claims. He appealed and was allowed back into the program in a different location, Plauen. Upon graduation, his roommate accused him of stealing which saw his teaching license permanently revoked.

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4. Karl May served prison time more than once

Karl May dressed as one of his book’s characters, Kara Ben Nemsi by Max Moritz Welte from Wikimedia Commons

Shortly after he graduated as a teacher, he was jailed for several weeks for stealing his roommate’s watch. He was again in prison from 1865 to 1869. He was held at the Osterstein Castle, Zwickau for an unnamed crime.

After his release from prison, he continued with his crime life. He defrauded people as an imposter. May impersonated doctors, police officers, and many more roles. This led to his detention from 1870 to 1874 in Waldheim, Saxony.

5. May began writing after he left prison

While in prison at Osterstein Castle, Karl May showed good behavior. Subsequently, he became the prison library administrator. Serving in that responsibility gave him the chance to read widely. It sparked his passion to write and he listed the works he purposed to write.

Furthermore, when he left prison in 1874, he published Die Rose von Ernstthal (The Rose from Ernstthal). This was his first published work which came in November 1874.

During that period, Karl worked as an editor in various publishing houses in Dresden. Thus he published works like Geographische Predigten (Collected Travel Stories) in 1876. He quit his editorial job in 1876.

6. He became a freelance writer in 1878

Karl May books shelved in the Karl May Museum in Radebeul by Immanuel Giel from Wikimedia Commons

Karl May transitioned into full-time writing in 1878. In 1880, he started the Orient Cycle which ran until 1888, though with interruptions.

On top of that, he published articles in different journals such as the 1887s Der Sohn des Bärenjägers (Son of the Bear Hunter). He also wrote under pseudonyms so his write-ups in journals were over one hundred.

In 1891, the German publisher Friedrich Ernst Fehsenfeld offered to print May’s stories of Son of the Bear Hunter into books.

His rise to the limelight came in 1892 with Carl May’s Gesammelte Reiseromane. It was a publication of his collected travel accounts. This increased his popularity and financial gains. It also brought him a huge fan base.

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7. Karl May married Emma in 1880

Emma Pollmer was his wife from 1880 until they divorced in 1903. They had no children together. In 1903 he married Klara May. The couple remained together until May’s death in 1912. As per his will, Klara was left as his sole heiress.

8. The Winnetou book series was his most famous work

Karl May Winnetou I by Sascha Schneider from Wikimedia Commons

This novel was first published in 1892. It was in four volumes, Winnetou I-IV. The fictional character Winnetou is the protagonist. Moreover, the story is set in the U.S. Southwest during the late 1800s era.

In the story, Winnetou is the only Native Indian chief. He is expected to unite his community’s rival tribes and reach an agreement with the whites. Yet he is murdered. So the story is narrated by his white friend and blood-brother Old Shatterhand.

Karl May’s other famous works were 1894s The Oil Prince, The Treasure of Silver Lake in 1891, and The Son of Bear Hunter (1887). Also, Old Surehand I of 1894 and The Ghost of the Llano Estacado of 1888 were part of his famed masterpieces. Most of his books were themed on aggression, racism, and religious subjects.

9. He never visited the areas he wrote about

Karl is saluted for his prowess in creative imagination. His travel narratives were out of imagination and not first-hand experiences. For instance, though he centered many stories in America, historical records show his travel to North America in 1908. He was on a six-week trip in the region with his wife Klara.

On their excursion, they traveled through New York’s Albany and Buffalo cities as well as Niagara Falls. They also visited friends in Massachusetts Lawrence city.

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10. Hitler was a fan of May’s writing

Adolf Hitler’s 1925 autobiographical manifesto, Mein Kampf (My Struggle or My Battle) noted he admired Karl. It revealed that Hitler read the works of May in his childhood.

Here are fast facts about Karl May

11. Karl May influenced German writers like Carl Zuckmayer, Max von der Grün, and Heinz Werner Höber.

12. He received an honorary degree in 1902.

13. His works have been adapted into literature, musicals, films, and theatre creations.

14. There are many Karl May institutions in his honor. They include Karl May Foundation, Karl May Press, museums, and societies.

15. Karl May died on 30 March 1912.