Myth

 "Born in Bodenwerder, Hanover, the real-life Münchhausen fought for the Russian Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739.  

After retiring in 1760, he became a minor celebrity within German aristocratic circles

 for telling outrageous tall tales based on his military career.  " 

The real-life Münchhausen was deeply upset at the development of a fictional character bearing his name, and threatened legal proceedings against the book's publisher. Perhaps fearing a libel suit, Raspe never acknowledged his authorship of the work, which was only established posthumously.

The fictional Baron's exploits, narrated in the first person, focus on his impossible achievements as a sportsman, soldier, and traveller; 

for instance: riding on a cannonball, fighting a forty-foot crocodile, and travelling to the Moon.  

Intentionally comedic, the stories play on the absurdity and inconsistency of Munchausen's claims, 

 and contain 

an undercurrent of social satire"   

"the Baltic German noble circles gentlemen tended to tell imaginative stories about hunting or war experiences." 

"rather than being considered a liar, Münchhausen was seen as an honest man.

As another contemporary put it, Münchhausen's unbelievable narratives were designed not to deceive, but "to ridicule the disposition for the marvellous which he observed in some of his acquaintances". 

"January 1794, Münchhausen married Bernardine Friederike Louise Brunsich von Brunn (1773-1839), a woman who was 

fifty-three years his junior. 

 Von Brunn reportedly became ill soon after the marriage and spent the summer of 1794 in the spa town of Bad Pyrmont, 

 although contemporary gossip claimed that she spent her time there dancing and flirting."

"At around the same time, English Review was less approving: "We do not understand how a collection of lies can be called a satire on lying, any more than the adventures of a woman of pleasure can be called a satire on fornication." 

According to an interview, Jules Verne relished reading the Baron stories as a child, and used them as inspiration for his own adventure novels. 

The Baron's notoriety is universal, his character proverbial, and his name as familiar as that of Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, or Robinson Crusoe."

Steven T. Byington wrote that "Munchausen's modest seat in the Valhalla of classic literature is undisputed",

 comparing the stories to American tall tales and concluding that the Baron is 

"the patriarch, the perfect model, the fadeless fragrant flower, of liberty from accuracy".