Moritz August von Thümmel

Moritz August von Thümmel (1738–1817) was a German humorist and satirical author.

Educated at Roßleben, Thuringia and the University of Leipzig, where he studied law, from 1761 until 1783 he held various offices in the ducal court of Saxe-Coburg, where he became privy councillor and minister of state.

His most famous work is his Reise in die mittäglichen Provinzen van Frankreich im Jahre 1785–1786 (1791–1805), a "sentimental journey" in ten volumes, in which the influence of Wieland is unmistakable.

Schiller, in his essay "On Naïve and Sentimental Poetry", found this work wanting in aesthetic dignity yet allowed that the keen knowledge of men and things it displays makes it a valuable contribution to literature.

Wilhelmine has also been edited by Richard Rosenbaum (1894), and has been translated into English by John Raymond Russell (1998).