This textbook is an anthology of the most important basic texts on the theory of biography. The authoritative programmatic texts are presented chronologically from the 18th to the 20th century, including contributions by Herder, Carlyle, Dilthey, Freud, Kracauer, Woolf, Foucault and Bourdieu.Each text is accompanied by a commentary whichfocuses on its importance and places the respective text more exactly in the history and theory of biography. This reader is thus an ideal textbook for seminars in bachelor's and master's programs. Scholars of literature and historians can also gain a well-founded overview of the subject.