Kafka’s Prague

‘A useful addition to any thinking person’s library … Wagenbach’s volume on Kafka includes reproductions of Kafka’s letters, original book covers and a well-drawn map of Prague showing the places mentioned in the text.’
New Statesman

‘Wonderful … Wagenback is the doyen of Kafka scholars, and is easily the best guide to his life and work: succinct, handsomely produced, and endlessly informative.’
New York Sun

A century after his death, Kafka’s works continue to intrigue and haunt us, Kafkaesque becoming a byword for the unfathomable absurdity and bureaucracy of modern existence. And yet, for all their universal relevance Kafka’s writings are inextricably bound up with his native city, Prague

Kafka’s Prague is an exploration of the writer’s life in the city: his early years, his education, his employment, his literary influences, and his relationships with women. The result is a portrait of the 20th century’s most enigmatic writer and the city that provided him with so much inspiration.

KLAUS WAGENBACH was one of Europe’s leading authorities on Kafka. His renowned publishing house Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, was founded in West Berlin in 1964. Wagenbach was the first German-speaking researcher to access Kafka’s papers in Czechia and Israel.

PETER LEWIS has had careers in university teaching and publishing and now works as a freelance translator and author.

EWALD OSERS was a Czech translator born in Austria-Hungary.