Die Feuerzangenbowle

Die Feuerzangenbowle:
Eine Lausbüberei in der Kleinstadt

2002 edition cover
Author	Heinrich Spoerl
Country	Germany
Language	German
Publisher	Droste Verlag
Publication date	1933
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	264

Die Feuerzangenbowle (The Fire Tongs Bowl, The Punch Bowl) is a German novel, later adapted into several films, which tells the story of a famous writer going undercover as a pupil at a small town gymnasium after his friends tell him that he missed out on the best part of growing up by being educated at home. The story in the book takes place during the Weimar Republic in Germany. The novel by Heinrich Spoerl was published in 1933 and was adapted to film three times. The 1944 movie of the same name directed by Helmut Weiss is the most notable adaptation of the material. This German comedy classic was one of the last big movie productions in Germany before the end of the Nazi era and has gained cult status at German universities since the 1980s.

Die Feuerzangenbowle: Eine Lausbüberei in der Kleinstadt was written by Heinrich Spoerl. The novel adopts ideas from Ernst Eckstein's Der Besuch im Karzer (published 1875) and was partly inspired by personal accounts of Spoerl's own schooldays as well as his son's pranks at school. The first edition was published in 1933 by Droste Verlag.

On March 12th, 2010, the Landgericht Hamburg (county court) ruled that Hans Reimann is not co-author of the novel. The fact that Spoerl shared his royalties with Reimann is in no way to be considered as proof of co-authorship. The court decided that the publishing contract on the novel, signed by Spoerl alone, clearly indicates his exclusive authorship.

The title refers to the Feuerzangenbowle punch consumed by a group of gentlemen in the opening scene. While they exchange nostalgic stories about their schooldays, the successful young writer Dr. Johannes Pfeiffer realizes he missed out on something because he was taught at home and never attended school. He decides to make up for it by masquerading as a student at a small-town high school. At the school he quickly gains a reputation as a prankster. Together with his classmates, he torments his professors Crey, Bömmel and Headmaster Knauer with adolescent mischief. His girlfriend Marion unsuccessfully tries to persuade him to give up his foolish charade. Eventually, he falls in love with the headmaster's daughter and discloses his identity after provoking the teachers into expelling him from school.