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Florian: The Lipizzaner
Florian is a Lipizzaner stallion. His life starts as a pampered foal, and he eventually becomes an emperor’s horse. With the death of the Emperor, Francis Joseph, life changes for Florian. The new Emperor does not use carriage horses, only cars or trains, so all the horses of the Imperial Stables are put up for auction. Florian becomes a cab horse, and as the use of the car spreads ever onwards, he is of less and less use.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1937
3 people are currently reading
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About the author
Felix Salten
242 books114 followersThere is more than one author with this Name.
Felix Salten was an Austrian writer. He was born Siegmund Salzmann in Budapest, Hungary. When he was three weeks old, his family moved to Vienna, Austria. Many Jews were immigrating into the city in the late 19th century because Vienna had finally granted full citizenship to Jews in 1867.
When his father went bankrupt, Felix had to quit school and begin working in an insurance agency. He also began submitting poems and book reviews to journals. He became part of the Young Vienna movement (Jung Wien) and soon received work as a full-time art and theater critic in the Vienna press. In 1901 he founded Vienna's first, short-lived literary cabaret. In 1900 he published his first collection of short stories. He was soon publishing, on an average, one book a year, of plays, short stories, novels, travel books, and essay collections. He also wrote for nearly all the major newspapers of Vienna. He wrote film scripts and librettos for operettas. In 1927 he became president of the Austrian P.E.N. club. (acronym of the International Association of Poets and Playwrights, Essayists and Editors, and Novelists)
His most famous work is Bambi, which he wrote in 1923. It was translated into English in 1928 and became a Book-of-the-Month Club hit. In 1933, he sold the film rights to Sidney Franklin for $1,000, who later transferred the rights to the Walt Disney studios. Disney released its movie based on Bambi in 1942.
Life in Austria became perilous for a prominent Jew in the 1930s. Adolf Hitler had Salten's books banned in 1936. Two years later (1938), after Austria had become part of Germany, Salten moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where he lived until his death.
He was married to the actress Ottilie Metzl, and had two children: Paul and Anna-Katherina. He wrote another book based on the character Bambi, titled Bambi's Children: The Story of a Forest Family, 1939. His stories "Perri" and "The Hound of Florence" inspired the Disney films Perri and The Shaggy Dog.
Salten is considered to be the author of the erotic novel Josephine Mutzenbacher, the fictional autobiography of a Vienna prostitute, which was published in 1906.
Felix Salten was an Austrian writer. He was born Siegmund Salzmann in Budapest, Hungary. When he was three weeks old, his family moved to Vienna, Austria. Many Jews were immigrating into the city in the late 19th century because Vienna had finally granted full citizenship to Jews in 1867.
When his father went bankrupt, Felix had to quit school and begin working in an insurance agency. He also began submitting poems and book reviews to journals. He became part of the Young Vienna movement (Jung Wien) and soon received work as a full-time art and theater critic in the Vienna press. In 1901 he founded Vienna's first, short-lived literary cabaret. In 1900 he published his first collection of short stories. He was soon publishing, on an average, one book a year, of plays, short stories, novels, travel books, and essay collections. He also wrote for nearly all the major newspapers of Vienna. He wrote film scripts and librettos for operettas. In 1927 he became president of the Austrian P.E.N. club. (acronym of the International Association of Poets and Playwrights, Essayists and Editors, and Novelists)
His most famous work is Bambi, which he wrote in 1923. It was translated into English in 1928 and became a Book-of-the-Month Club hit. In 1933, he sold the film rights to Sidney Franklin for $1,000, who later transferred the rights to the Walt Disney studios. Disney released its movie based on Bambi in 1942.
Life in Austria became perilous for a prominent Jew in the 1930s. Adolf Hitler had Salten's books banned in 1936. Two years later (1938), after Austria had become part of Germany, Salten moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where he lived until his death.
He was married to the actress Ottilie Metzl, and had two children: Paul and Anna-Katherina. He wrote another book based on the character Bambi, titled Bambi's Children: The Story of a Forest Family, 1939. His stories "Perri" and "The Hound of Florence" inspired the Disney films Perri and The Shaggy Dog.
Salten is considered to be the author of the erotic novel Josephine Mutzenbacher, the fictional autobiography of a Vienna prostitute, which was published in 1906.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 22, 2011
This book was given to me by Darcy for my 21st Birthday and finally got around to reading it now.
The book was not what I expected but not in a bad way. I thought it was going to be a lot like Salten's other book 'Bambi'. I thought Florian would be telling the story with great details of his feelings and thoughts of his life as he moves from place to place, much like 'Black Beauty'. This was not the case but I thought Florian's life was detailed quite nicely. I thought that there might have been too many extra characters in the story and I did get confused between many of them. I liked all the extra detail about the military and the ranking because I learned a lot from it.
It's a shame that this book isn't in circulation anymore and I am happy that I could add this text to my collection.
The book was not what I expected but not in a bad way. I thought it was going to be a lot like Salten's other book 'Bambi'. I thought Florian would be telling the story with great details of his feelings and thoughts of his life as he moves from place to place, much like 'Black Beauty'. This was not the case but I thought Florian's life was detailed quite nicely. I thought that there might have been too many extra characters in the story and I did get confused between many of them. I liked all the extra detail about the military and the ranking because I learned a lot from it.
It's a shame that this book isn't in circulation anymore and I am happy that I could add this text to my collection.
May 11, 2021
In the beginning, I was really enthusiastic about this book, and I really enjoyed it. But around page 300, about, it started to drag. I felt it was starting to drone on, and putting too much effort into the setting and not into the development of the characters or the plot. I did really enjoy the characters and how the story turned out, even if I wasn't expecting the bittersweet ending.
February 7, 2022
I tracked this book down after viewing the b/w movie with Robert Young on television in 1957. Glad I did.
December 16, 2025
I really like this book
September 22, 2024
I was on a Felix Salten kick and I'm an equestrian, so I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it fell short for me. I was expecting something like Bambi, with the animal perspective, and for the most part it was told from the view of the humans. The history for the Spanish Riding School was beautiful and I really enjoyed it, but ultimately this came out to be another Black Beauty, but sadly not as well told.
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July 6, 2021This was a book of my childhood, and so although I only remember glimpses of it I can't bear to rate it any lower than a three. I have a copy; I really should reread it soon.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews