Description
Without question, one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, Zweig is not as well known today by English readers as he should be.Â
Stefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, biographer, journalist, and playwright. He was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. After studying philosophy at the University of Vienna and earning his doctoral degree in 1904, Zweig dedicated himself to writing and by the 1920s and 1930s became one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world.
He wrote historical studies of famous literary figures in Drei Meister (1920; Three Masters), and decisive historical events in Sternstunden der Menschheit (1928; published in English in 1940 as The Tide of Fortune: Twelve Historical Miniatures). This brilliant collection of vignettes that focus on pivotal turning points in history that could have easily gone in a different direction, is a masterpiece of the imagination. Zweig’s most celebrated novels include Letter from an Unknown Woman (1922), Amok (1922), Confusion (1927), The Royal Game (1941), and a psychological novel Beware of Pity (1939).
The edition presents Zweig’s iconic story in Zweig’s original German and in a new translation made especially for our edition by John Hargraves. John is an accomplished writer and translator and former professor of German literature at Yale and Connecticut College. He is a celebrated connoisseur of the German language and of classical music. Also a gifted pianist and musical director, John bridges his interest in music and literature in remarkable ways. He has written a book and multiple articles on both and translated numerous German works into English. John is co-founder and president of Musical Masterworks in Old Lyme, a chamber music series there, and also serves as a board member of the Vienna Philharmonic Society of New York and the Metropolitan Opera Guild.
