Patrick Süskind

Jeffrey T. Adams (University of North Carolina, Greensboro)
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After spending the 1970s writing what he has characterized as “short unpublished prose pieces and longer un-produced screenplays”, Patrick Süskind was catapulted to fame in the 1980s by the monodrama

Der Kontrabass

[

The Double Bass

, 1981], which became an instant success and a favourite of the German stage. In 1985 his status as literary

wunderkind

was confirmed with the publication of the novel

Das Parfüm. Die Geschichte eines Mörders

[

Perfume. The Story of a Murderer

], which quickly topped the European best-seller list and eventually sold millions of copies worldwide. Collaborations with Helmut Dietl on scripts for the popular TV series

Monaco Franze

(1983) and

Kir Royal

(1986) further enhanced Süskind's fame. While not as successful as his previous works, Süskind's subsequent…

2124 words

Citation: Adams, Jeffrey T.. "Patrick Süskind". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 November 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5866, accessed 24 November 2024.]

5866 Patrick Süskind 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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