Situated on the cusp of West and East, between the foothills of the
Alps and the mighty 'Blue Danube', Vienna has long presented
authors with a wealth of material for stories that entertain and
intrigue. The city's famous quality of life and rich variety of
cultural offerings is apparent here at every turn, but so too is
its darker side, whether it be the Viennese obsession with death
and decay or the dramatic, tragic events of its twentieth-century
history. In stories from the early to mid-nineteenth century in
particular, the city stands for wine, women and song, for a
laid-back - - perhaps somewhat lax?- - outlook on life that is
invariably linked to its location as German culture's southernmost
centre. In more recent tales, the theme of the good life and of
Vienna's beauty continues, but there are very few authors who do
not dwell on elements of darkness or melancholy. Indeed, from the
mid-twentieth century onward, death itself seems to have become
literature's preferred guide to the city. The collection
concentrates on stories set at the city's margins. The tales are
arranged geographically rather than chronologically, around and
through the city from west to east and back again. We begin and end
with Arthur Schnitzler and Joseph Roth, two authors already
indelibly associated with Vienna, but represented here by
little-known gems, translated for the first time. Other authors
include stars of Vienna's nineteenth century feuilleton journalism
- Heinrich Laube, Ferdinand Kurnberger, Adalbert Stifter - but also
the most recent generation of Viennese writers, Doron Rabinovici,
Eva Menasse, Dimitre Dinev, with tales as yet unknown in English.
General
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