Jean-Paul Richter (1763–1825), a contemporary of J. W. Goethe and a recognized classic of German literature, rediscovered in the 20th century, considered “The Rude Years” “as his best work, in which, in fact, he lives: there, they say, everything is intimate and comfortable for him, like a friendly room, a cozy sofa and a well-known joyful community.” Jean-Paul said that the characters in the novel, the twin brothers Valt and Vult, are “nothing more than two opposing, but still related persons, from the combination of which he consists.” Jean-Paul influenced and continues to influence the work of modern German-speaking writers (for example, Arno Schmidt, who learned a lot from him, Reinhard Jirgl, the Swiss Peter Bixel). According to Geneviève Espagne, a specialist in the work of Jean-Paul, this writer cannot be attributed to any of the dominant trends of that time: neither to the late Enlightenment, neither to the Weimar classics, nor to romanticism. In any case, there is no doubt about the closeness of Jean-Paul's work to literary modernity." This publication is supplied with extensive commentary, based on German academic publications, but largely supplemented by a translator.