Read this when
Michael Kohlhaas
He was 100% in the right. Then being right became his whole personality… and then he burned down a city. 🐎🔥
Who it's for
Kleist starts the reader firmly on Kohlhaas's side: an honest horse dealer whose horses are seized and ruined by a nobleman's men, and whose lawful appeals are blocked by the nobleman's connections.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Heinrich von Kleist's novella, published in 1810 in the first volume of his collected stories, follows Michael Kohlhaas, a horse dealer from Brandenburg. A nobleman's official holds two of his horses, which are mistreated, and his servant is beaten. His attempts at legal redress are blocked by the nobleman's connections, and his wife dies after a guard strikes her while she is delivering a petition.
Where to find it
Public domain in the US in its German original (1810) and older English translations, which can be found free online. Modern translations in Kleist story collections in print and via libraries.
Before you start
Heads up: Killings and a wife's violent death.
Age: Ages 16+
Do not blame your food because you have no appetite.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 40
