''Letters to Felice'' is a book collecting some of

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

's letters to

Felice Bauer Felice Bauer (18 November 1887 – 15 October 1960) was a fiancée of Franz Kafka, whose letters to her were published as ''Letters to Felice''. Early life Felice Bauer was born in Neustadt in Upper Silesia (today Prudnik), into a Jewish f ...

from 1912 to 1917.

Schocken Books Schocken Books is a book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House that specializes in Jewish literary works. Originally established in 1931 by Salman Schocken as Schocken Verlag in Berlin, the company later moved to Palestine and then the Uni ...

acquired these letters from Felice Bauer in 1955, in addition to roughly half of Kafka's letters to

Grete Bloch Margarete Bloch (21 March 1892 – Precise date unknown, 1944, Auschwitz concentration camp) was a friend of Felice Bauer and a pen-friend of Franz Kafka. Grete Bloch was born in Berlin, a daughter of the sales representative Louis Bloch and Jen ...

, Bauer's friend. Additional letters to Bloch were acquired at a later date. During the period of the correspondence Kafka and Bauer were engaged twice, and Kafka produced some of his most famous works, including ''

The Metamorphosis ''Metamorphosis'' (german: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himsel ...

'', "

In the Penal Colony "In the Penal Colony" ("") (also translated as "In the Penal Settlement") is a short story by Franz Kafka written in German in October 1914, revised in November 1918, and first published in October 1919. As in some of Kafka's other writings, the ...

", and his first attempts at writing ''

The Trial ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and pr ...

''. Originally published in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

in 1967 as ''Briefe an Felice'', the collection was first published in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by Schocken Books in 1973. It was translated by James Stern and Elisabeth Duckworth.

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n novelist

Elias Canetti Elias Canetti (; bg, Елиас Канети; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994) was a German-language writer, born in Ruse, Bulgaria to a Sephardic family. They moved to Manchester, England, but his father died in 1912, and his mother took her t ...

wrote about the correspondence in ''Kafka's Other Trial: The Letters to Felice''. Through a reading of the letters along with sections of ''The Trial'' Canetti examined Kafka's struggle between a comfortable middle-class life and individual isolation.

References

* {{Authority control 1967 non-fiction books Essays by Franz Kafka Collections of letters Schocken Books books