Irrungen Wirrungen, Berliner Roman: Diversions and Entanglements, A Berlin Novel (translation)

Theodor Fontane wrote eighteen novels and novellas that established him as Germany’s foremost Realist author of the late 19th century. One of his greatest achievements is his novel “Irrungen Wirrungen,” completed when he was seventy. Set in Berlin, capital of the new German empire, it begins with the fairytale summer romance of an aristocratic cavalry officer and a working-class seamstress. Financial difficulties and the social divide doom the affair, but what began as a diversion entangles their hearts for years to come. Fontane brilliantly captures the spirit of the era with rich historical and social detail. This new translation--especially designed for students of German, English, and Comparative Literature (but a reading pleasure for anyone)--supplies side-by-side English/German text, introduction, biography, maps, and extensive notes. Now a fresh translation of this classic novel, widely read and studied in Germany, is available for English-speaking readers.