Franz Hessel

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Franz Hessel (November 21, 1880 – January 6, 1941) was a German writer and translator. With Walter Benjamin, he produced a German translation of three volumes of Marcel Proust's 1913-1927 work À la recherche du temps perdu in the late 1920s.[1]

Hessel's parents, Fanny and Heinrich Hessel, came to Berlin in 1880, and joined the Lutheran church (having been born Jewish).[2] Hessel became one of the first German exponents of the French idea of flânerie, and in 1929 published a collection of essays on the subject related to his native Berlin, Walking in Berlin (German: Spazieren in Berlin).[3][4] Reviewing the book in 1929, Benjamin described it as "an echo of the stories the city has told [Hessel] ever since he was a child—an epic book through and through, a process of memorizing while strolling around, a book for which memory has acted not as the source but as the Muse."[5] Concluding, Benjamin wrote: "if a Berliner is willing to explore his city for any treasures other than neon advertisements, he will grow to love this book."[6]

Hessel's son Stéphane Hessel became a diplomat.

Hessel inspired the character of Jules in Henri-Pierre Roche's novel Jules et Jim.[7][8]

English Translations[]

  • Walking in Berlin. Translated by Amanda DeMarco. Scribe Publications, 2017.

References[]

  1. ^ https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=103677188. Missing or empty |title= (help)[dead link]
  2. ^ "Best-selling French author and Holocaust survivor has some advice for Israel".
  3. ^ Hanssen, Beatrice (2006-08-10). Walter Benjamin and the Arcades Project. ISBN 9780826463876.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2010-01-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Benjamin, Walter (1999) [1929]. "The Return of the Flaneur". In Jennings, Michael W.; Eiland, Howard; Smith, Gary (eds.). Selected Writings Volume 2, Part 1: 1927–1930. Translated by Livingstone, Rodney. Harvard University Press. p. 262.
  6. ^ Benjamin 1999, p. 266.
  7. ^ Blume, Mary (25 April 2003). "The secret lives of Jules and Jim". The New York Times.
  8. ^ http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/23/julesjim.html[permanent dead link]

External links[]


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