The paper begins with an outline of Slovene narrative prose and then focuses on the initial narrative texts of the German-Slovene writer Luiza Pesjak (1828-1898): Očetova ljubezen (A Father's Love) and Dragotin, both from 1864. These works have a special place in the writer's oeuvre, for they are a realisation of her intention to be not merely a German, but more a Slovene-writing patriotic author. Attention is drawn to how the writer followed the dominant tendencies in constituting Slovene narrative, but some new approaches are also revealed. It is then easier to evaluate her contribution, for narrative prose only became programmatic and widespread in the 1860s. A draft typology is offered of the main characteristics of the (early) narrative writing of Luiza Pesjak.
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