Eduard Vilde (4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1865 – 26 December 1933) was an Estonian writer, a pioneer of critical realism in Estonian literature, and a diplomat. He was the author of classics such as The War in Mahtra and The Milkman from Mäeküla. He was one of the most revered figures in Estonian literature and is generally credited as being the country's first professional writer.[1]

Eduard Vilde
Vilde in 1911
Vilde in 1911
Born4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1865
Poidifer, Kreis Wierland, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire
(present-day Pudivere, Väike-Maarja Parish, Lääne-Viru County)
Died26 December 1933(1933-12-26) (aged 68)
Tallinn, Estonia
OccupationWriter
NationalityEstonian
Period1880–1933
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Life and career

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Vilde grew up on the farm where his father worked. In 1883, he began working as a journalist. He spent a great deal of his life traveling abroad and he lived for some time in Berlin in the 1890s, where he was influenced by materialism and socialism. His writings were also guided by the realism and naturalism of the French writer Émile Zola (1840–1902).[2] In addition to being a prolific writer, he was also an outspoken critic of Tsarist rule and of the German landowners. With the founding of the first Estonian republic in 1919, he served as an ambassador in Berlin for several years,[3] and spent the last years of his life editing and revising an enormous volume of his collected works. After his death in 1933, he became the first person to be interred at Metsakalmistu, in the Pirita district of Tallinn.

Works

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References

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  1. ^ ELIC. "A Short History of Estonian Literature". The creation of 'our own' literature in the 19th century. Estonian Literature Information Centre. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  2. ^ Peter Melville Logan, Olakunle George, Susan Hegeman, Efraín Kristal (2011). The Encyclopedia of the Novel, Vol. 1. John Wiley and Sons. p. 88. ISBN 978-1405161848.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Sheeran, Paul (2007). Literature and international relations: stories in the art of diplomacy. Ashgate Publishing. p. 118. ISBN 978-0754646136.
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