Robert Neumann: Essays, Letters

The Austrian writer Robert Neumann (1897 -1975), whose significance is underestimated today, was a central literary figure in the mid-20th century including in connection with his activity for PEN and as a leading figure in the Austrian exile community in Britain. This selective edition of Robert Neumann`s large literary estate (in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) includes his "journalistic writings (poetics, polemics, policy)" together with "letters and other personal documents", all with commentary. A detailed register and a chronological table are enclosed. The selection reflects the "three successful careers of Neumann" (R. Dove), both particularities and continuity - in three very disparate publics: as a novelist and parodist before 1933, as an English writer in the exile-years in Great Britain and as a many-sided author in the German-speaking countries after 1958. There is a large amount of previously unknown and wide-spread archive material that have been brought together in this edition. Most of the letters and documents are first published. They show new and nuanced insights into Neumann`s life and literary work. Some new issues have emerged from Neumanns papers - such as his work with the BBC German and Austrian Service or his not always easy relations with the Free Austrian Movement. Most of the selected essays concern the intersections between literature and politics - even clear-sighted and polemical. Parody - literary impersonation - satire - wit / Sociology of literary success / Exiles and "innere Emigration"/ The Protocols of the Elders of Zion / Antisemitism and Philosemitism in Postwar-Germany / PEN Club International and Cold War / "Gruppe 47 - Old Cronies in Berlin": such themes are examples of Neumann`s journalistic spectrum.