Hugo von Hofmannsthal is one of the modern
era's most important writers, but his fame as Richard
Strauss's pioneering collaborator on such operas as
Der Rosenkavalier and Die Frau ohne
Schatten has obscured his other remarkable writings:
his precocious lyric poetry, inventive short fiction,
keen essays, and visionary plays. The Whole
Difference, which includes new translations as well
as classic ones long out of print, is a fresh
introduction to the enormous range of this extraordinary
artist, and the most comprehensive collection of
Hofmannsthal's writings in English. Selected and
edited by the poet and librettist J. D. McClatchy, this
collection includes early lyric poems; short prose
works, including "The Tale of Night Six Hundred and
Seventy-Two," "A Tale of the Cavalry," and the famous
"Letter of Lord Chandos"; two full-length plays, The
Difficult Man and The Tower; as well as the
first act of The Cavalier of the Rose. From the
glittering salons of imperial Vienna to the bloodied
ruins of Europe after the Great War, the landscape of
Hofmannsthal's world stretches across the extremes of
experience. This collection reflects those extremes,
including both the sparkling social comedy of "the
difficult man" Hans Karl, so sensitive that he cannot
choose between the two women he loves, and the haunting
fictional letter to Francis Bacon in which Lord Chandos
explains why he can no longer write. Complete with an
introduction by McClatchy, this collection reveals an
artist whose unusual subtlety and depth will enthrall
readers.
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