Karl May

Karl Friedrich May (February 25, 1842 - March 30, 1912) was a German writer noted chiefly for his books about the American West. He never visited North America, however; his very influential fictional accounts of that milieu have no direct basis in experience.

He wrote under many different pen names, including Capitain Ramon Diaz de la Escosura, M. Gisela, Hobble-Frank, Karl Hohenthal, D. Jam, Prinz Muhamêl Lautréamont, Ernst von Linden, P. van der Löwen, Emma Pollmer, Richard Plöhn, and Oberlehrer Franz Langer.

May invented the characters of Winnetou, the wise Indian, and Old Shatterhand, Winnetou's white partner.

His works were immensely successful in Europe, translated into 33 different languages and selling over 200 million copies. Several of his novels were subsequently made into films; these are featured annually at the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg[?].

May also dabbled as a musical composer, writing two very famous romantic German songs, "Forget Me Not" and a version of "Ave Maria."

External link

• My Life and My Efforts (Mein Leben und Streben) from Project Gutenberg (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/author?name=May%2C%20Karl%20Friedrich)