Editing Theodor Fontane (section)

===Later years===
[[File:Theodor Fontane by E. Bieber, 1894.png|thumb|Theodor Fontane in 1894]]
At the age of 57, Fontane finally began work on his novels, for which he is remembered best today.<ref>Wolfgang Hädecke: page 275.</ref> Fontane's lifelong wish to be able to live from his literary works was finally fulfilled.<ref>[https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-8806160.html Interview with Gordon Craig at Der Spiegel], 1997</ref> A fine [[historical novel|historical romance]], ''Vor dem Sturm'' (''Before the Storm'', 1878), was followed by a series exploring modern life, notably ''L'Adultera'' (''Woman Taken in Adultery'', 1882), which was the first of his society novels and deemed risky for its theme of adultery.<ref>Otto Drude: p. 176</ref>

His novels ''Irrungen, Wirrungen'' (''Trials and Tribulations'', 1888), ''[[Frau Jenny Treibel]]'' (1892) and ''[[Effi Briest]]'' (1894–95) yielded insights into the lives of the [[nobility]] and middle-class citizens. His achievement in this regard was later described as poetic realism. In ''[[Der Stechlin]]'' (written 1895–97), his last completed novel, Fontane adapted the realistic methods and social criticism of contemporary French fiction to the conditions of Prussian life.