Stefan Zweig: books

Stefan Zweig

Stefan Zweig Quote

When an Internet user requests the search “Stefan Zweig books”, the results show the most renowned titles of the Austrian writer, journalist, biographer, playwright and social activist. Indeed, the Viennese writer was a prolific creator of stories, breaking sales records and becoming the most translated German-speaking author of the interwar period.

En particular, Zweig became very famous thanks to his news (short novels). Between these include: Fear (1920) Letter from a stranger (1922), The confusion of feelings (1927) and chess novel (1942). In addition, she wrote several critically acclaimed novels, such as dangerous piety (1939) and The intoxication of metamorphosis (published postmortem in 1982).

The literature of Stefan Zweig

Zweig published seventeen biographical texts, an autobiography and more than 40 titles including non-fiction books, short stories, plays, poems, novels and news. in all your posts the Austrian writer showed meticulousness in his narrative technique and was careful with the construction of his characters. For this reason, literary analysts often describe him as "an old-fashioned writer."

Similarly, the thoroughness of his investigations is palpable in works such as the essay Three Masters (1920), which includes Zweig's studies of Balzac, Dickens and Dostoevsky. Along the same lines, the Austrian author delved into the life and thought of Friedrich Hölderlin, Heinrich von Kleist and Friedrich Nietzsche, among others.

Synopsis of three seminal novels by Stefan Zweig

Letter from a stranger (Brief einer Unbekannten, 1922)

a famous novelist —identified only as “R”— returns to Vienna after a vacation, on his 41st birthday. So, receives one letter from a woman unknown what does it say have read all his work and feel intensely in love with him. The lady also claims to have known him for two decades, when she was eight years old and secretly watched him from the house next door.

Later, when the girl was 18, she became one of the writer's numerous courtesans and became pregnant. Despite her circumstances, she chooses to be a single mother so as not to interfere with the literary man's work. However, the child died and the mysterious woman decided to write him a letter, which he must read "only after her death."

dangerous piety (Ungeduld des Herzens, 1939)

Anton Hoffmiller, an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer ordered on the frontier of the empire, is invited to a party in the house of a wealthy local landowner. The event is lavish, diametrically opposed to the boring routine of the barracks. There, the protagonist, excited by glamor and wine, invites the graceful daughter of the host to dance.

But at that moment the soldier discovers that the girl is crippled due to a terrible disease. Little by little, compassion and guilt end up moving Hofmiller, who ends up involved in a strange plot with supposedly noble intentions. While the purpose was to restore the heiress to health, the plan leads to a tragic entanglement.

Novela de chess (Die Schachnovelle, 1941)

A game of chess takes place aboard a ship between two unfriendly rivals: Dr. B, an anonymous passenger, against Mirko Czentovic. The latter is the world champion and demonstrates the automatisms of a machine. On the other hand, Dr. B's strategies are based on his own harrowing experiences, since he was imprisoned and interrogated by the Gestapo for months.

Precisely, in that captivity, Dr. stole a chess manual and compulsively recreated games in his mind as a way to alleviate his suffering. But the match against Czentovic relives his trauma along with the respective “chess vice”, as he anticipates the match's moves in his head. At the climax of the story, the Dr. announces his capitulation to a ruthless rival.

Some biographical facts about Stefan Zweig

Stefan Zweig

Stefan Zweig

Birth and family

He was born in Vienna on November 28, 1881. He was the second child of the Jewish marriage between Moritz Zweig, a wealthy textile businessman, and Ida Brettauer, a descendant of a banking family. Regarding his faith, the Austrian intellectual later declared that he and his brother inherited the Hebrew religion "solely by an accident of birth".

Influences, youth and studies

Young Stefan dared to submit his poetry to local newspapers when he was just a high school student. In fact, by the age of 16 he had already completed several manuscripts and collections on Goethe, Mozart and Beethoven. Later, studied Philosophy and History of Literature at the University of Vienna.

During his university period, his first publications appeared.: the tales forgotten dreams (1900) and Spring in the Prater (1900), plus the poems silver ropes (1901). After receiving his Ph.D. in Philosophy (1904), he traveled through Europe, settling in Salzburg in 1913. After his participation in World War I, he devoted himself to preaching pacifism for the rest of his life.

Notable friendships

Stefan Zweig was an admirer of Sigmund Freud's work (a palpable issue in his biographies and essays). Not in vain, one of the most famous books of the Viennese author is a psychological novel: dangerous piety (1939). Likewise, he made friends with many transcendental men of his time —especially after his exile in 1934—; among them:

  • Eugene Relgis
  • Hermann Hesse
  • Pierre-Jean Jouve
  • Thomas Mann
  • Max reinhardt
  • Albert Einstein.

Marriages, personal life and death

In 1908, Zweig met Friderike Maria von Winternitz, whom he married in 1920. (they had two daughters). She frequently helped him with his research, read the books sent to the author, wrote acknowledgment letters on his behalf, and supported him during his severe depressive periods. The couple they divorced in 1938 and the following year the Viennese writer married Lotte Altmann.

In 1934, the rise of antisemitism forced him into exile; he lived in Paris, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. In February 1942 the writer and his second wife decided to commit suicide —by barbiturate overdose— in Petropolis, Brazil. In more recent times, the Viennese author's legacy has come back into vogue thanks to the multiple editions of his texts during the 2010s.

Best known biographies of Stefan Zweig

  • Stellar moments of humanity (1927)
  • Healing by the Spirit (1931)
  • Marie Antoinette (1932)
  • Maria stuart (1934)
  • Erasmus of Rotterdam (1934)

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