Karl Lindau (1857 – 1913) was the pen name of Austrian writer, poet, journalist, and playwright Karl Schenke. He was born in Vienna, then part of the Austrian Empire, and spent most of his professional life there. Lindau contributed regularly to Viennese newspapers and periodicals, where he published poetry, short prose, and commentaries on contemporary cultural life.
As a dramatist, Lindau is noted for authoring libretti and texts for popular operettas and musical theatre productions that were staged in Vienna’s light‑entertainment venues during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works often incorporated elements of Viennese folk tradition and were characterized by a humorous, accessible style that appealed to a broad urban audience.
Lindau’s literary output reflects the vibrant, bourgeois popular culture of fin de siècle Vienna. He died in 1913, leaving behind a body of work that continues to be referenced in studies of Austrian popular theatre and journalism of the period.