''Radetzky March'' (german: Radetzkymarsch) is a 1932

family saga The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...

novel by

Joseph Roth Moses Joseph Roth (2 September 1894 – 27 May 1939) was an Austrian journalist and novelist, best known for his family saga '' Radetzky March'' (1932), about the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his novel of Jewish life '' Job'' ...

chronicling the decline and fall of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

via the story of the Trotta family. ''Radetzkymarsch'' is an early example of a story that features the recurring participation of a historical figure, in this case the Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

(1830–1916). Roth continues his account of the Trotta family to the time of the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

in his '' The Emperor's Tomb'' (''Kapuzinergruft'', 1938). The novel was published in English translation in 1933, and in a new, more literal, translation in 1995.

Plot

''Radetzky March'' relates the stories of three

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

s of the Trotta family, professional Austro-Hungarian soldiers and career bureaucrats of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n origin — from their zenith during the

empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

to the nadir and breakup of that world during and after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1859, the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

(1804–67) was fighting the

Second War of Italian Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

(29 April – 11 July 1859), against French and Italian belligerents:

Napoleon III of France Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, the Emperor of the French, and the

Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

In northern Italy, during the

Battle of Solferino The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Piedmont-Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II (together known ...

(24 June 1859), the well-intentioned, but blundering, Emperor Franz Joseph I, is almost killed. To thwart snipers,

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

Lieutenant Trotta topples the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

from his horse. The Emperor awards Lt. Trotta the

Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

and ennobles him. Elevation to the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

ultimately leads to the Trotta family's ruination, paralleling the imperial collapse of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). Following his social elevation Lt. Trotta, now Baron Trotta von Sipolje, is regarded by his family — including his father — as a man of superior quality. Although he does not assume the airs of a social superior, everyone from the new baron's old life perceives him as a changed person, as a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

. The perceptions and expectations of society eventually compel his reluctant integration into the aristocracy, a class amongst whom he feels temperamentally uncomfortable. As a father, the first Baron von Trotta is disgusted by the historical revisionism that the national school system is teaching his son's generation. The school history textbook presents as fact a legend about his battlefield rescue of the Emperor. He finds especially galling the misrepresentation that

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Trotta was a cavalry officer. The Baron appeals to the Emperor to have the school book corrected. The Emperor considers however that such a truth would yield an uninspiring, pedestrian history, useless to Austro-Hungarian patriotism. Therefore, whether or not history textbooks report Infantry Lt. Trotta's battlefield heroism as

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

or as fact, he orders the story deleted from the official history of Austria-Hungary. The subsequent von Trotta family generations misunderstand the elder generation's reverence for the

of Lt. Trotta's saving the Emperor's life and consider themselves rightful aristocrats. The disillusioned Baron Trotta opposes his son's aspirations to a military career, insisting he prepare to become a government official, the second most respected career in the Austrian Empire; by

custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

, the son was expected to obey. The son eventually becomes a district administrator in a Moravian town. As a father, the second Baron Trotta (still ignorant of why his war-hero father thwarted his military ambitions) sends his own son to become a cavalry officer; thereby grandfather's legend determines grandson's life. The cavalry officer's career of the third Baron Trotta comprises postings throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire and a dissipated life of wine, women, song, gambling, and dueling, off-duty pursuits characteristic of the military officer class in peace-time. Following a fatal duel the young Trotta transfers from the socially elite

Uhlan Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...

s to a less prestigious Jäger regiment. Baron Trotta's infantry unit then suppresses an industrial strike in a garrison town.

Awareness Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some infor ...

of the aftermath of his professional brutality begins Lieutenant von Trotta's disillusionment with

. He is killed, bravely but pointlessly, in a minor skirmish with Russian troops during the opening days of World War I. His lonely and grieving father, the District Commissioner, dies after Franz Joseph two years later. Two mourners at the funeral conclude that neither the second von Trotta nor the old Emperor could have survived the dying Empire.

Literary significance

''Radetzky March'' is

's best-known work. It was critically acclaimed after being first published in German in 1932 and then translated to English in 1933. In 2003, the German literary critic

Marcel Reich-Ranicki Marcel Reich-Ranicki (; 2 June 1920 – 18 September 2013) was a Polish-born German literary critic and member of the informal literary association Gruppe 47. He was regarded as one of the most influential contemporary literary critics in the fi ...

included it in '' Der Kanon'' ("The Canon") of the most important German-language literary novels. It is a novel of the ironies and humour inherent in the well-intentioned actions that led to the decline and fall of a family and an empire; the Emperor Franz Josef I of

remains ignorant of the unintended, negative consequences of so rewarding his subjects, and he continues conferring great favors, as with Lt. Trotta, after the

in 1859.

The novel's title derives from the ''

Radetzky March "Radetzky March", Op. 228, is a march composed by Johann Strauss Sr. and dedicated to Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. First performed on 31 August 1848 in Vienna, it soon became popular among regimented marching soldiers. It has bee ...

'', Op. 228 (1848), by

Johann Strauss Sr. Johann Baptist Strauss I (; also Johann Strauss Sr., the Elder, the Father; 14 March 1804 – 25 September 1849) was an Austrian composer of the Romantic Period. He was famous for his light music, namely waltzes, polkas, and galops, which he ...

(1804–49), which honors the Austrian Field Marshal

Joseph Radetzky von Radetz Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz ( en, John Joseph Wenceslaus Anthony Francis Charles, Count Radetzky of Radetz; cz, Jan Josef Václav Antonín František Karel hrabě Radecký z Radče; sl, Janez Jožef Vencelj ...

(1766–1858). It is a symbolic

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

heard at critical narrative junctures of the Trotta family history. During an interview on the United States TV show ''Charlie Rose'', Peruvian writer

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

,2010 Literature Nobel Prize winner, ranked ''The Radetzky March'' as the best

political novel Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fantast ...

ever written. When time passed, the multi-generation family saga ''Radetzky March'' brought its author an acclaim and recognition as "one of the greatest German-language writers of the 20th century."J. M. Coetzee
Emperor of Nostalgia
''The New York Times Review of Books'', February 28, 2002.

Publication history

The first German edition of the novel, ''Radetzkymarsch'', was published in 1932 by ''Verlag Kiepenheuer'' in Berlin. In 2010, it was re-issued with epilogue and commentary by Werner Bellmann, Stuttgart: Reclam, 2010 (540 pages). ''Radetzky March'' has been translated into various languages. Geoffrey Dunlop translated it to English in 1933. Soffy Topsøe translated it into Danish in that same year, and Hugo Hultenberg into Swedish. The 1934 French edition was translated by Blanche Gidon. A Russian translation was published in 1939, a Spanish edition in 1950, Czech in 1961, Romanian in 1966, Polish in 1977, Portuguese in 1984, Croatian in 1991. A notable English translation was done by the poet

Michael Hofmann Michael Hofmann (born 25 August 1957) is a German-born poet who writes in English and is a translator of texts from German. Biography Hofmann was born in Freiburg into a family with a literary tradition. His father was the German novelist Ger ...

, who has translated a number of other works by Joseph Roth. The first Persian translation by Mohammad Hemmati was published in 2016.

Adaptations

Television adaptations appeared in 1965 and 1994.

References

External links