Gottfried Keller published his cycle of novellas with a gap of nearly 20 years. The first part, containing five stories, was released in 1856, while the expanded edition with an additional five stories was not published until 1875. Set in the fictional Swiss small town of Seldwyla, Keller viewed his narratives, which are situated in both the past and the present of the 19th century, as humorous "portraits of life," occasionally escalating to the grotesque. The only exception is the novella "Romeo and Julia auf dem Dorfe," which is inspired by Shakespeare's tragedy and, along with "Kleider machen Leute" and the fairy tale "Spiegel, das Kätzchen," remains among Keller's most popular works to this day.