Hermann Borchardt: Prosa
[Hermann Borchardt: Prose]

The focus of the third volume of Hermann Borchardt’s works, alongside shorter stories, is the novel Geschichte einer Edelfrau (Tale of a Noblewoman), which the editors discovered in the author’s estate. An abridged English translation of his first novel, Die Verschwörung der Zimmerleute (The Conspiracy of the Carpenters), was published in New York in 1943, while the original German text only got published in 2005. That Borchardt had completed another novel was previously unknown, the edition of this work a minor sensation.

In what appears to be a historical novel—a love story set in the German Empire—Borchardt narrates the past in a lighthearted tone that nonetheless hints at the horrors to come. It is a true piece of Exilliteratur: Borchardt began the work before his emigration, completed it in New York in 1944, and revised it repeatedly over 12 years in various locations. This volume also includes chapters and fragments not included in the novel itself, offering insights into the history behind the Geschichte einer Edelfrau.

To be published on December 11, 2024.