From Blue Danube:

Tales from the Dual Monarchy, a collection of short stories translated from German and Hungarian is NOW OUT.

The Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary was formed in 1867. Dual because its titular sovereign, His Imperial and Royal Highness Franz Joseph, was both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Thus kaiserlich (like a Caesar, in other words imperial) und königlich (like a king, royal) abbreviated to k.u.k., still frequently visible in inscriptions and notices throughout Austria.

Though sceptical voices had warned that this arrangement would be detrimental to the autonomy and prestige of both sides, the Dual Monarchy nevertheless flourished for the next four decades, until it collapsed in ruins at the end of the First World War.

The short stories from Vienna and Budapest in this newly translated collection, most in English for the first time, are by Austrian and Hungarian authors who were at the height of their powers during the brief, meteoric heyday of this extraordinary multi-ethnic empire.

The Austrian authors of the stories in this collection include Arthur Schnitzler, Joseph Roth, Rainer Maria Rilke, Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Stefan Zweig. The names of the Hungarian writers, such as Kálmán Mikszáth, Margit Kaffka, Endre Ady or Kostolányi are less familiar to English readers but with the Austrians all were well known in their day, their works avidly read and commented on in the newspapers and the coffee houses.

Still today these stories provide a fascinating portrait of the world their writers knew, and a running commentary on the life and assumptions of what for many was a golden age, in a time and place that have vanished beyond recall.

Tales from the Dual Monarchy—a new short story collection from Vienna and Budapest from their golden age—is the latest release form the Blue Guides’ Blue Danube imprint, literature, travel and history form Central Europe. More details of Blue Danube and its list here »

Category: European Literature in translation.