A vivid new translation of a timeless classic: Kleist's tense, ambiguous novella about an unexpected pregnancy
In a Northern Italian town during the Napoleonic Wars, Julietta, a young widow and mother of impeccable reputation, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. This follows an attack on the town's citadel, in which several Russian soldiers tried to assault her before she was rescued by Count F-, at which point she fell unconscious. Thrown out of her father's house, Julietta publishes an announcement in the local newspaper stating that she is pregnant and would like the father of her child to make himself known so that she can marry him.
What follows is an ambiguously comic drama of sexuality and family respectability. One of Kleist's best-loved works, The Marquise of O- is an ingenious and timeless story of the mystery of human desire, and Nicholas Jacobs's new translation captures the full richness of its irony.
- ISBN13 9781843910541
- Publish Date 1 June 2003 (first published 30 November 1995)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 4 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Hesperus Press Ltd
- Edition New edition
- Format Paperback
- Pages 112
- Language English