Unterm Birnbaum

by Theodor Fontane · first published 1885

Under the Pear Tree (German: Unterm Birnbaum) is a novella written in 1885 by Theodor Fontane. It is a crime story in which the reader knows from the outset who commits a murder and why. While the details of the murder event itself remain mysterious, the narrative focuses on what others think happened, how a small town's community opinion vacillates over time, and how the community's opinions affect the perpetrators. The reader cannot easily predict whether the murderers will ever be caught.

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