While a student at that university, under his pseudonym he published his first work, The Chronicle of Sparrow Lane (1857) (German: Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse).
[1] Then he again returned to Brunswick and remained active until the end of the century, publishing upwards of 30 novels and a number of short stories and sketches.
During the first, he wrote with a light touch, producing a series of pictures of German life from the abundance of his imagination and experience, among which are:[2] The influence of the pessimism of Schopenhauer is evident during the second period.
Of his numerous later works Das Odfeld (1889) and Die Akten des Vogelsangs (1895) seemed to be most read.
[5] Approximately 600 of his works exist, partially in private ownership of his descendants or with the Braunschweig Museum.