""I write of love and death. What other subjects are there?"" -Arthur Schnitzler
International literary icon Arthur Schnitzler is best known today for his 1926 novella Traumnovelle, the basis for Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. This comprehensive 320-page biography reveals he was much more: a pioneering modernist whose unflinching examination of sex, power, and identity created a body of work that grows more urgent with each passing decade.
A Life of Passion, Tragedy, and Genius
Schnitzler was a Viennese physician-turned-writer, whose works were burned by the Nazis as ""Jewish filth"" in 1933, yet his legacy endures as one of modernism's essential voices.
This biography reveals the man behind the scandals: his tempestuous affair with actress Adele Sandrock, his complex marriage to singer Olga Gussmann, his relationship with writer Clara Katharina Pollaczek, and the devastating 1928 suicide of his daughter Lili-a loss that haunted him until his death in 1931.
What's Inside
Five-part narrative biography spanning his formation as a reluctant doctor, breakthrough as Vienna's most controversial playwright, tumultuous marriage years, and final decade marked by late masterpieces and his daughter's tragic suicide Complete chronological bibliography of every major work with publication details and English translations
Why Schnitzler Matters Now
He invented stream-of-consciousness in German literature-twenty-two years before James Joyce-with his revolutionary 1900 novella Leutnant Gustl His 1924 masterpiece Fräulein Else explores sexual coercion and consent with startling relevance to the #MeToo era His banned play Professor Bernhardi (1912) exposes institutional antisemitism with prophetic clarity as antisemitism rises globally today His scandalous Reigen (La Ronde) sparked riots in 1920 Berlin and remained banned for decades-yet its circular exploration of desire across social classes remains electrifying Traumnovelle (1926), the basis for Eyes Wide Shut, represents the pinnacle of his late style: psychological, erotic, and deeply unsettling
Perfect For
Readers of literary biography (fans of Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, Robert Musil) Theater and film enthusiasts, especially admirers of Eyes Wide Shut Students of modernist literature and psychoanalytic theory Anyone interested in Vienna 1900, Habsburg history, or Jewish cultural history Readers seeking literature that speaks to contemporary issues of consent, power, and identity
By:
Arthur C Rauscher Imprint: Ovid Publishing Group Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 24mm
Weight: 630g ISBN:9798993256276 Pages: 344 Publication Date:22 March 2026 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Hardback Publisher's Status: Active
