The Novices of Sais - Novalis and Paul Klee

The Novices of Sais by Novalis, with illustrations by Paul Klee / ISBN 9780974968056 / small 129-page paperback with flaps, published by Archipelago

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Novalis is one of the towering figures of German Romanticism. The Novices of Sais, translated from the German into French in 1925, received enthusiastic recognition by artists and poets alike and is often quoted by the surrealists. The text is a lyrical combination of Romantic emotion combined with a profound fascination with nature. In 1949, the novel was translated into English by Ralph Manheim and accompanied by 60 original drawings by Paul Klee. With an introduction by Stephen Spender.

Friedrich von Hardenberg, who wrote under the pen name Novalis, died at the age of 29 in 1801. His Hymns to the Night is considered one of the great pillars of German Romanticism.