Friedrich de la Motte Fouque

Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué was a German writer of the Romantic style. He came from a Prussian noble family and served as a cavalry officer before turning to writing. His best known work is the 1811 novella Undine, the story of a water spirit who marries a knight, which was later turned into an opera and inspired Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. He also wrote plays, poems and tales of chivalry.