Selected Short Fiction — Arthur Schnitzler

Schnitzler's (1862-1931) work is probably more popular now than it has ever been, thanks to Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, based on ""Dream"", Nicole Kidman's starring role in his play ""The Blue Room"", and Peter Gay's recent history, ""Schnitzler's Century"". The primary focus of Schnitzler's stories is on the volatile, turbulent inner lives of his characters as revealed in dreams, unconscious sexual impulses, and psychopathic states, often rendered in an ironic, bittersweet tone reminiscent of Chekhov. These thirteen stories, the most substantial selection of Schnitzler's short fiction to be published, with a number of them translated into English for the first time, provide a much-needed balanced selection. They range from short comic tales to dense novellas such as the celebrated favorites Lieutenant Gustl and Fraulein Else, and the superbly atmospheric, dramatic tale of love and sudden death, The Duellist's Second. These stories brilliantly display the social and psychological awareness of this fine writer.