The Stories of Heinrich von Kleist: A Critical Bilingual Edition

The stories of Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) are a hallmark of German literature, and they are as relevant, engaging and confounding today as ever. Although translated into English previously, this is the first scholarly, bilingual edition of Kleist’s stories, in which his dictional idiosyncrasies are rendered closely and systematically. Comprehension is aided by lexical, intertextual and translational annotations, and individual story commentaries offer historical context and interpretational starting points. This first of two volumes is based on Kleist’s collection Erzählungen (1810) and includes a detailed introduction to Kleist’s prose style, with a focus on influences, syntax and lexis, and narrative characteristics.

With a foreword by Tim Mehigan.

Johannes Heinrich Contag has worked as a translator for 25 years. He holds a PhD in Literary Translation and has published on Kleist previously. Contag also lectures in Sound Engineering, and in his spare time composes orchestral accompaniments to silent films.