Effi Briest

Effi Briest
Cover of the original edition
AuthorTheodor Fontane
TranslatorHugh Rorrison and Helen Chambers
LanguageGerman
GenreNovel
PublisherPhilipp Reclam jun. Stuttgart & (Eng. trans. reissue Penguin Classics)
Publication date
1894–95; 1895 (book)
Publication placeGermany
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN978-3-15-006961-5
ISBN 0-14-044766-0 (reissue)

Effi Briest (German pronunciation: [ˈɛfi ˈbʁiːst]) is a realist novel by Theodor Fontane. Published in book form in 1895, Effi Briest marks both a watershed and a climax in the poetic realism of literature. It can be thematically compared to other novels on 19th-century marriage from a female perspective, such as Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary, which are also adultery tragedies.