The Adventure of the German Student

"The Adventure of the German Student" is a short story by Washington Irving, which was published in 1824 in his collection of essays Tales of a Traveller. The story was inspired by a French tale of unknown origin, and several variations of the story have since appeared in print.

Background

In the introduction to Tales of a Traveller, Irving, under the guise of his fictional alter-ego Geoffrey Crayon, writes that "the following adventures were related to me by the same nervous gentleman" who he claims told him the story of "The Stout Gentleman", which was published in Irving's 1822 episodic novel Bracebridge Hall. In regards to "The Adventure of the German student", Irving writes that "the story, or rather than the latter part of it, is founded on an anecdote related to me as existing somewhere in the French". Irving would go on to reveal in journals that the story had been told to him by Thomas Moore.

Plot

The story is set during the French Revolution, and follows a young German named Gottfried Wolfgang who has come to Paris, France to complete his studies. Returning to his apartment on a stormy night, Wolfgang encounters a woman sitting at the base of the guillotine who claims to be without friends, family, or home. She is described as wearing "a broad, black band round her neck, clasped by diamonds". Wolfgang takes her back to his lodgings, where they declare their devotion for one another. The next morning, after temporarily leaving the woman alone, Wolfgang returns to find her a corpse in his bed.