real is it that one is tempted to doubt whether it is fiction at all". Depiction of Germans The character of Christine was introduced to the British and American public as an eyewitness to the events that explain the German mindset leading into the war. Christine describes how the German men, women, children, and babies all conform to the aims of the nation leading into World War I. She discusses the intensity of the German people as they begin to develop bloodlust at the prospect of gaining wealth through warfare with France and Russia: "[The] Germans have gone mad… [The streets] seem full of drunken people, shouting up and down with red faces all swollen with excitement." Christine also complains of the mindless marching and the callousness of the Germans as she describes them as slaves, "abject, greedy, and pitiful". An article in Nation stated if this book was accurate in its descriptions, then it would "wipe out distinction between attitude of German people and the German government", leaving little doubt in the minds of the American people that the German people and their government had different views. The review received proper appreciation once the definite authorship was confirmed by the publishers. The Christine piece was believed by many, because it offered an explanation and appeared to be written by a woman without an agenda. The book also helped the American effort to rally the American people and gain support for the war. Christine provided the audience with new details to add to the stereotype of the German people. Identity of the author Arnim went to great lengths to keep the public from knowing her true identity. "The adopted pseudonym, her subsequent fierce repudiation of authorship, even among intimate friends, may well be due to her realization that any suspected connection with herself might result in the most unhappy consequences…." Leslie De Charms addresses the success of Christine in her biography commenting that "Christine would not only be widely read at home, but would be heard of across the Channel and praised or abused according to the political sympathies of readers". Many book reviewers questioned if the author was a young English woman traveling to Germany for violin lessons, The Dial of Chicago stated, "the doubt as to the legitimacy of the letter comes when one reads the initial one…. the fluency of the style, seem to indicate that 'Christine'