ANZENGRUBER, LUDWIG

born Nov. 29, 1839, Vienna died Dec. 10, 1889, Vienna Austrian playwright and novelist who won acclaim for his realistic plays of peasant life. After working for a time as an actor, Anzengruber published an anti-clerical drama, Der Pfarrer von Kirchfeld (1870; The Pastor of Kirchfeld), which was a great success. Except for the melancholy Der Meineidbauer (1872; The Farmer Forsworn), most of his plays were gay and witty comedies set among the people of small towns; they include Die Kreuzelschreiber (1872; The Cross Makers), Der G'wissenswurm (1874; The Worm of Conscience), and Doppelselbstmord (1876; Double Suicide). He wrote a problem play, Das vierte Gebot (1878; The Fourth Commandment), and also novels: Der Schandfleck (1877, revised 1884; The Stain), Der Sternsteinhof (1884; The Sternstein Farm), and other tales of village life.