Frank Wedekind was born in Hanover, Germany, but grew up in Switzerland, in a castle purchased by his father. Wedekind's father was a doctor, and his mother was an actress in the German Theatre in San Francisco prior to her marriage. Wedekind was the second eldest of six children. He had a secondary school education, and worked as a freelance journalist, in advertising, and as the private secretary of an art dealer before he began to make his living through the theatrical arts.
With the art dealer, Wedekind traveled through France and England. Upon his return in 1888, Wedekind began to write and seek work as an actor, primarily in Munich. Wedekind took up writing at a time when Germany...