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The Short Stories of Gustav Meyrink Volume 1: The Opal and Other Stories

First published in 1994 it is a welcome return for these classic stories in a 2-volume collection of Meyrink’s short stories.

"Meyrink's short stories epitomised the non-plus-ultra of all modern writing. Their magnificent colour, their spine-chilling and bizarre inventiveness, their aggression, their succinctness of style, their overwhelming originality of ideas, which is so evident in every sentence and phrase that there seem to be no lacunae." -- Max Brod

"These tales - sc-fi, ghost-stories, gothic fables, oriental allegories - were written in the first decade of the century and are now translated for the first time. They make a magnificent introduction to his bizarre genius, which combined the sharp Bohemian scepticism of his contemporary Kafka with the mordant humour and outreach of Swift." -- Independent on Sunday

224 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2023

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About the author

Gustav Meyrink

349 books342 followers
The illegitimate child of a baron and an actress, Meyrinck spent his childhood in Germany, then moving to today's Czech Republic where he lived for 20 years. The city of Prague is present in most of his work along with various religious, occult and fantastic themes. Meyrinck practiced yoga all his life.

Curious facts:

He unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide at the age of 24. His son committed suicide at the same age with success.

Meyrinck founded his own bank but was accused of fraud for which he spent 2 months in prison.

He worked as a translator and translated in German 15 volumes by Charles Dickens while working on his own novels.

Among his most famous works are Der Golem (1914) and Walpurgisnacht (1917).

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178 reviews4 followers
May 17, 2023
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The Man in the Bottle - 2/5
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720 reviews8 followers
July 19, 2023
A wonderful collection of wity and macabre tales, many of which are making their debut in English. A must-read for fans Edgar Allan, Auguste Villiers De L Isle Adam, Leon Bloy and Franz Kafka
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews