Biography

Richard Voss (2 September 1851 – 10 June 1918) was a German dramatist and novelist. In standard German orthography, his name is printed as Voß. Voss was born at Neu-Grape near Pyritz, in Pomerania, the son of a country squire.

Though intended for the life of a country gentleman, he showed no inclination for outdoor life, and on his return from the war of 1870-71, in which he was wounded, he studied philosophy at Jena and Munich, and then settled at Berchtesgaden. In 1884 Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, appointed Voss as librarian of the Wartburg, but he later resigned the post, due to ill health.

Voss spent 25 years of his life living at Frascati, near Rome, where he wrote many of his novels and plays. He was granted honorary citizenship of the town.