In the 1800s, any news from America was exciting, including even horrific accounts. One such event was the conflagration of the steamer "The Erie," which left 270 dead, most of them German immigrants. Inspired, novelist Theodor Fontane wrote his bestselling poem "John Maynard," a larger-thanlife rendition of the true helmsman Luther Fuller. The work has been on many reading lists to the point that Buffalo erected a historical marker dedicated to John Maynard. Discover a heroic saga and how literature and a real event created an enduring fable across the ocean. – Angela Beaumont, M.A
