A moving love story and a vivid depiction of Berlin in the 1870s,from Germany's greatest nineteenth-century novelist Theodor Fontane.Lene is a beautiful,orphaned young seamstress,and Botho is a handsome,aristocratic cavalry officer. They are in love,yet know they have only a short time together as society deems their relationship impossible and refuses to acknowledge the seriousness of their feelings. But while Botho appears to have a glittering life ahead of him,the love he feels may yet be his undoing. Published in 1887,On Tangled Paths caused a scandal on publication with its portrayal of a sexual affair across the classes,and is a taut,flawless masterpiece.Theodor Fontane was born in the Prussian province of Brandenburg in 1819. After qualifying as a pharmacist,he made his living as a writer. From 1855 to 1859,he lived in London and worked as a freelance journalist and press agent for the Prussian embassy. While working as a war correspondent during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1 he was taken prisoner,but released after two months. His first novel,Before the Storm,was published when he was fifty-eight and was followed by sixteen further novels,of which Effi Briest,No Way Back and On Tangled Paths are all published in Penguin Classics. He died in 1898.Peter James Bowman completed a PhD on Fontane at Cambridge University,and now works as a writer and translator.'On Tangled Paths has the flawless logic and beautiful design of the novella at its best'- Paul Binding,The Spectator'There is an undertow of sadness to this novel,yet to read it is a joy,for its humanity,subtlety and visual immediacy'- Ruth Pavey,The Independent'Theodor Fontane's first true masterpiece; it has a perfect beginning,a perfect ending,and no superfluous sentence in between'- Henry Garland
Publisher: Penguin Books LtdISBN: 9780141392172Number of pages: 192Weight: 147 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 10 mm
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On Tangled Paths has the flawless logic and beautiful design of the novella at its bestThere is an undertow of sadness to this novel,yet to read it is a joy,for its humanity,subtlety and visual immediacyTheodor Fontane's first true masterpiece; it has a perfect beginning,a perfect ending,and no superfluous sentence in betweenA tender and wistful love story... (Peter James Bowman's) translation is excellent
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