The World of Yesterday, mailed to his publisher a few days before Stefan Zweig took his life in 1942, has become a classic of the memoir genre. Originally titled “Three Lives,” the memoir describes Vienna of the late Austro-Hungarian Empire, the world between the two world wars and the Hitler years.

Translated from the German by Benjamin W. Huebsch and Helmut Ripperger; with an introduction by Harry Zohn, 34 illustrations, a chronology of Stefan Zweig’s life and a new bibliography, by Randolph Klawiter, of works by and about Stefan Zweig in English.

“The best single memoir of Old Vienna by any of the city’s native artists.” — Clive James

“A book that should be read by anyone who is even slightly interested in the creative imagination and the intellectual life, the brute force of history upon individual lives, the possibility of culture and, quite simply, what it meant to be alive between 1881 and 1942.” — The Guardian

“It is not so much a memoir of a life as it is the memento of an age.” — The New Republic

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The Pushkin Press Classics list brings you timeless storytelling by icons of literature such as Stefan Zweig, Teffi and Antal Szerb. These titles represent the best of fiction and non-fiction, hand-picked from around the globe – from Russia to Japan, France to the Americas – boasting fresh selections, new translations and stylishly designed covers. Featuring widely acclaimed authors from across the ages, as well as compelling contemporary writers, these are the world’s best stories – to be read and read again. Pushkin Press Classics also incorporates the Peter Owen and Angel Classics lists, both of which were acquired by Pushkin Press in recent years.