Grimmelshausen was born at Gelnhausen in 1621 or 1622. His early life was dominated by the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) in which he fought for both sides. He describes his first involvement in the war as a 'snotty-nosed ten-year-old musketeer' in his writing and served as a soldier until its end. His experiences in the Thirty years War are mirrored in his masterpiece, Simplicissimus which was first published in 1668 and was the first bestselling novel in Germany. Several of his later work takes up themes and characters occurring in Simplicissimus,