Life of a Good-For-Nothing - Brossura

Von Eichendorff, Joseph

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1843910047 ISBN 13: 9781843910046

Casa editrice: Hesperus Pr, 2002

Riassunto

Despaired of by his father and impatient with his lot, a young man hears the enticing call of life on the road. Leaving his home and all that he knows, he embarks on a journey in search of adventure and glory. One day enjoying fortune and plenty, the next at the mercy of villains and rogues, his is a life of chance and wonder that, despite its strange twists and turns, ultimately leads him to his heart’s desire. Primarily a lyrical poet, Joseph von Eichendorff is a key figure in Germany’s literary heritage.

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Recensione:

'Unflappable Epicureanism suffuses this 1826 novella by a German Romantic writer (1788-1857) best known for his lyrical lieder. Von Eichendorff's unnamed, highly engaging layabout (and narrator) is dismissed by his hardworking father, employed as a (particularly inept) assistant gardener at a Viennese estate whose beauteous daughter thereafter fills his dreams; then he's subjected to miscellaneous adventures and perils in Italy and Austria (including encounters with Leonardo da Vinci and an abusive parrot), before a coincidence-driven finale rewards him with far more happiness than he has earned. A delightful tale, featuring a Candide who wouldn't think of exerting himself to cultivate his garden, preferring instead to sit back and smell the flowers.' --Kirkus Review

L'autore:

German lyric poet and novelist, Joseph Karl Benedikt Freiherr von Eichendorff, was born in March 1788. He was a Silesian nobleman by birth, living much of his early life on his parents’ estate, Schloss Lubowitz. Eichendorff, alongside his older brother, William, studied law at the universities of Halle, Heidelberg, and Berlin, and his first extant poems date from 1804, the year before his matriculation at Halle. Early military zeal saw him abandon study for the Prussian War of Liberation (1813) against Napoleon, and again obey a call to arms in 1815. In October 1814 he had married Luise von Larisch. After university, Eichendorff wrote a novel, entitled Future and Present (1815), a work composed in Lubowitz and Vienna, where he studied to enter the Prussian civil service. He later worked as a government official from 1816-–44, initially as a junior lawyer in Breslau, and then as a government adviser. A devout Catholic, Eichendorff wrote to honour Nature, which he deemed to exist wherever God’s work was untarnished by humanity.His poems have inspired composers such as Mendelssohn and Richard Strauss, and his songs are now as popular as Volkslieder (folk-songs). A master of the short story, and a versatile dramatist, Eichendorff also translated Calderón’s religious dramas, and devoted his later years to a history of German literature. His most famous work, however, remains his novella of 1826, 'Life of a Good-for-nothing', which is considered a perfect example of Romantic narrative fiction. He died in 1857.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Hesperus Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1843910047
• ISBN 13: 9781843910046
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 108