The Wonderful History of Peter Schlemihl

Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Story Classics, 1950. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good. 0x0x0. Rudland, Peter. Limited edition, #1957 of 3000 copies. Includes publisher's slipcase and original clear acetate jacket. A few spots on slipcase, 2 inch tear and a couple tiny chips along jacket edges, spine a bit toned, slipcase edges faded. 1950 Hard Cover. x, 87, [1] pp. A novella written in German by the exiled French author, originally published in 1814. Translated into English, with an introduction by Ilsa Barea, and illustrations by Peter Rudland. The story popularized the Yiddish word schlemiel for a hopelessly incompetent person, and its theme (don't sell your shadow to the Devil) resonated with audiences of the time. "Asked which book by another author he would most like to claim as his own work, Italo Calvino once said without hesitation, Adelbert von Chamisso's Peter Schlemiel. First published in 1814, this brilliant novel is not only a precursor of Poe, Kafka, and the magic realists - it is a timeless fable with a remarkably contemporary flavor. When a mysterious man in a gray coat asks Peter Schlemiel if he would sell him his shadow, that "lovely, lovely shadow" of his, he naturally thinks the man must be mad. But then the stranger makes him an offer he can't refuse. In return for his shadow, Schlemiel receives a neverending source of riches, and he is convinced he is on the road to happiness. Yet he finds that without a shadow he is rejected by society and unable to find the fulfillment of love. After a series of fantastic adventures, Peter Schlemiel realizes that he must discover a new way to give his life meaning if he is to go on in the world. Adelbert von Chamisso was born in France, but moved at an early age to Prussia, where he lived during the Franco-Prussian war. Chamisso felt that he belonged equally to both war-torn cultures. Peter Schlemiel was written soon after Prussia's defeat by Napoleon, and was Chamisso's answer to a world in turmoil. The novel was an immediate success, and it catapulted him to international fame.