Stephanie - Herbert Rosendorfer

Stephanie by Herbert Rosendorfer, translated by Mike Mitchell / ISBN 9781873982174 / 153-page paperback from Dedalus Books (UK) / new copies but they are from the first (only) 1995 printing so the pages are toned already

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"Stephanie" is a unique blend of fantasy, dark comedy and acute social comment and is Herbert Rosendorfer's most brilliant novel since the publication of "The Architect of Ruins." What begins as a middle class German housewife's nightmare of another existence as an 18th century Spanish duchess who has murdered her husband, turns into reality. Stephanie accepts her prior existence and her crime, so that she can consummate her passion.

It is an extraordinary work of art which has enjoyed critical and commercial success throughout Europe, and will shortly be made into a film.

Herbert Rosendorfer was born in Germany in 1934. His first novel Der Ruinenbaumeister (1969) was a critical and commercial success, and is regarded by many critics as one of the masterpieces of German twentieth-century fiction. It was published in English by Dedalus in 1992 as The Architect of Ruins.