Masterful investigations by the renowned Raabe expert Hans-Jürgen Schrader. Wilhelm Raabe is regarded today as an advanced precursor of modernity among the great storytellers of German poetic realism. On one hand, he lived well into the 20th century, unlike many other representatives of realism; on the other hand, his demanding narrative style, his mostly passive heroes, the shifts in perspective, and his numerous intertextual reflections point to literary forms of expression from the 20th century. After an ideologically often misused history of impact, Hans-Jürgen Schrader served for many years as vice president of the Raabe Society, was responsible for the Raabe Yearbook, reissued Raabe's still relevant works, and played a key role in a critical reassessment of the forward-looking aspects of this narrative art.