Adolf Müllner

Adolf Müllner (born Oct. 18, 1774, Langendorf, near Weissenfels, Saxony [Germany]—died June 11, 1829, Weissenfels, Prussia) was a German playwright, one of the so-called fate dramatists, who wrote plays in which people perish as a consequence of past behaviour.

After studying law at Leipzig, Müllner established himself as advocate at Weissenfels and made his debut as an author with the novel Der Incest, oder der Schutzgeist von Avignon (1799; “The Incest; or, The Guardian Spirit of Avignon”). He next wrote a number of comedies for an amateur theatre group in Weissenfels. With his Romantic tragedies, however, Der neunundzwanzigste Februar (1812; “February 29”) and especially Die Schuld (1813; “The Debt”), Müllner became a representative of the fate dramatists, and for several years fate tragedies modeled on Die Schuld dominated the German stage. Müllner also edited various journals and had a reputation as a vigorous if somewhat acrimonious critic. In the year of his death he published the first German detective story, Der Kaliber (1829; “The Caliber”).