Ferdinand von Saar: Zehn Studien By Herausgegeben von Kurt Bergel

The Austrian writer Ferdinand von Saar (1832-1906) has enjoyed a moderate renaissance since the end of World War II. These ten essays by literary historians throw new light on Saar. After a short career as an officer in the Austrian army, he turned to writing. At first he stubbornly but unsuccessfully wrote historical dramas. Then he turned to poetry and wrote thirty-two Novellen. Most of the essays in this volume deal with Saar's short stories; one contribution compares him with Ernst von Wildenbruch as playwright; one analyzes the difficult problem of Saar's reception; one investigates the relationship of his narratives and the visual arts; another deals with the writer's ambivalent attitude toward his native country as revealed in his Festdichtungen.