With the appearance of The Cats' Bridge in 1890, the critics began to admit there had come into the literary arena a man sufficiently original to erect his own standard. Hermann Sudermann (1857 - 1928) dominated the German stage for nearly a quarter century, and was considered one of the greatest figures in contemporary German literature. He studied philosophy and history at Konigsberg University, and continued to write right up to his death, his last play appearing in 1925 and his last novel in 1928. Sudermann achieved surprising success in passing from novel-writing to dramatic authorship. He had a style of utmost distinction, and was well skilled in technique.