Michael Ende
(1929 – 1995)
M
ichael Andreas Helmuth Ende (November 12, 1929 - August 28, 1995) was a German writer of fantasy novels and children's books. He was born in Garmisch (Bavaria, Germany), son of the surrealist painter Edgar Ende. He died in Stuttgart (Germany) of stomach cancer.
Ende was one of the most popular and famous German authors of the 20th century, mostly due to the enormous success of his children's books. However, Ende was not strictly a children’s author, as he also wrote books for adults. Ende claimed, "It is for this child in me, and in all of us, that I tell my stories," and that "[my books are] for any child between 80 and 8 years" (qtd. Senick 95, 97). Ende’s writing could be described as a surreal mixture of reality and fantasy. The reader is often invited to take a more interactive role in the story, and the worlds in his books often mirror our reality, using fantasy to bring light to the problems of an increasingly technological modern society.
Ende was also known as a proponent of economic reform, and claimed to have had the concept of aging money in mind when writing Momo. He was interested in and influenced by anthroposophy.
Die unendliche Geschichte (The Neverending Story) is Ende's best known work. Other books include Momo and Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer (Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver). Michael Ende's works have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 20 million copies, and have been adapted into motion pictures, stage plays, operas and audio books.
Early life
Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende was born November 12, 1929 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Bavaria, Germany). An only child, his parents were Edgar Ende, a surrealist painter, and Luise Bartholomä Ende, a physiotherapist (Coby 258). Since his artwork was banned by the Nazi party, Edgar Ende was forced to work in secret. In 1935, when he was six, the Ende family moved to the "artists' quarter of Schwabing" in Munich (Haase 55). Growing up in this rich artistic and literary environment influenced Ende’s later writing.
Ende attended the Maximillians Gymnasium until schools in Munich were closed due to bombings in 1943 (Colby 258). He resumed school at the Waldorf School in Stuttgart. It was at this time that Ende first began to write stories ("Michael," par. 3). He aspired to be a "dramatist," but wrote mostly short stories and poems (Hasse 55). In 1945, sixteen year old Ende was drafted into the German army, but deserted and joined an anti-Nazi group for the remainder of the war (Colby 258; “Michael,” par. 3).
After World War II, Ende decided that he wanted to be a playwright, but accepted a scholarship to study acting at the Otto-Falkenberg-Schauspielschule in Munich, since he could not afford to pay for college.
Selected works
Michael Ende's works include: (Note – original titles are listed in German, followed by the English translation of the title in captions. Any translations of an entire work into English are listed.)
1960 - * Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer ((Translated into English by Anthea Bell as Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver)
children's book
Overlook Press, 1990, ISBN 0-87951-391-8
1962 - Jim Knopf und die Wilde Dreizehn (Jim Button and the Wild 13)
children's book
1967 - Die Spielverderber (The Spoilsport)
play
1972 - Tranquilla Trampeltreu die beharrliche Schildkröte (1972)
children's book
1973 - Momo (1973)(Translated into English by Francis Lobb as The Grey Gentlemen, and by J. Maxwell Brownjohn as Momo.)
children's book - Ende wrote and illustrated
Viking Penguin Press, 1986, ISBN 0-14-009464-4
1975 - "Das Kleine Lumpenkasperle"
children's book
1978 Das Traumfresserchen (Translated into English by Gwen Mars as The Dream Eater in 1978)
1978 - Lirum Larum Willi Warum: Eine lustige Unsinngeschichte für kleine Warumfrager
children's book
1979 - Die unendliche Geschichte: Von A bis Z (Translated into English by Ralph Manheim as The Neverending Story)
children's book
Amereon Ltd., 1979, ISBN 0-8488-1306-5
Buccaneer Books, 1991, ISBN 0-89966-807-0
Puffin Books, 1993, ISBN 0-14-038633-5
NAL/Dutton, 1997, ISBN 0-525-45758-5
1981 Der Lindwurm und der Schmetterling oder Der seltsame Tausch (1981)
children's book
1982 - Die zerstreute Brillenschlange
a play
1982 - Die Schattennähmaschine
children's book
1982 - Das Gauklermärchen (The Juggler's Tale)
a play
1982 - Written with Erhard Eppler and Hanne Tächl - Phantasie/Kultur/Politik: Protokoll eines Gesprächs (Fantasy/Culture/Politics: transcript of a conversation)
non-fiction
1982 - Die Ballade von Norbert Nackendick; oder das nackte Nashom
children's book
1984 - Norbert Nackendick; oder das nackte Nashom
children's book based on his play
1984 - Der Spiegel im Spiegel (1986)(Translated into English by J. Maxwell Brownjohn as Mirror in the Mirror: a labyrinth in 1986)
a collection of short stories for adults illustrated with Ende's father, Edgar Ende's engravings.
1984 - Filemon Faltenreich
children's book
1984 - Der Goggolori (1984)
wrote and illustrated
a play based on a Bavarian legend
1985 - Archäologie der Dunkelheit (Archaeology of Darkness)
nonfiction, about Edgar Ende and his work
1986 Trödelmarkt der Träume: Mitternachtslieder und leise Balladen (Midnight songs and quiet ballads)
collection of poetry and lyrics
1988 - Ophelias Schattentheater (Translated into English by Anthea Bell as Ophelia's Shadow Theater in 1989)
Overlook Press, 1989, ISBN 0-87951-371-3
1988 - Wrote the libretto for Die Jagd nach dem Schlarg
Opera adaptation of The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll
Der satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch (1989) (Translated into English by Heike Schwarzbauer and Rick Takvorian as The Night of Wishes: or, The Satanarchaeolidealcohellish Notion Potion in 1992)
children's novel
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992, ISBN 0-374-19594-3 v
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1995, ISBN 0-374-45503-1
1989 - Die Vollmondlegende (1989) (The Legend of the Full Moon)
1990 - Die Geschichte von der Schüssel und vom Löffel
children's book.
1992 - Das Gefängnis der Freiheit
adult short stories.
Weitbrecht Verlag, 1992, ISBN 3522708504
1992 - Der lange Weg nach Santa Cruz (The Long Road to Santa Cruz)
1993 - Der Teddy und die Tiere
children's book.
1993 - Wrote the libretto for the opera Der Rattenfänger: ein Hamelner Totentanz. Oper in elf Bildern
1998 - Der Niemandsgarten
fiction
