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The World of Yesterday

Memoirs of a European

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The World of Yesterday

By: Stefan Zweig, Anthea Bell - translator
Narrated by: David Horovitch
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About this listen

Stefan Zweig's memoir, The World of Yesterday, recalls the golden age of prewar Europe - its seeming permanence, its promise and its devastating fall with the onset of two world wars. Zweig's passionate, evocative prose paints a stunning portrait of an era that danced brilliantly on the brink of extinction. It is an unusually humane account of Europe from the closing years of the 19th century through to World War II, seen through the eyes of one of the most famous writers of his era. Zweig's books (novels, biographies, essays) were translated into numerous languages, and he moved in the highest literary circles; he also encountered many leading political and social figures of his day.

The World of Yesterday is a remarkable, totally engrossing history. This translation by the award-winning Anthea Bell captures the spirit of Zweig's writing in arguably his most important work, completed shortly before his tragic death in 1942. It is read with sympathy and understanding by David Horovitch.

©1942 Fischer Verlag. 2011 Anthea Bell (translation) (P)2017 Ukemi Productions Ltd Art & Literature Authors Memoir War Imperialism Soviet Union Socialism

Critic Reviews

"One of the greatest memoirs of the twentieth century." (David Hare)
"Zweig's celebration of the brotherhood of peoples reminds us that there is another way." ( The Nation)
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Incredible account told through the eyes of Zweig who seems to have been in the midst of the greatest European thinkers and creators in the early 20th century. An eerie reminder that we are currently in the midst of similar processes taking place...

Terrific personal account of the greatest events in the dawn of the 20th century

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Intimate description of political, cultural and everyday life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Superbly written. An extraordinary journey.

A must read

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An easy, generous read.
Zweig doesn't bog us down with personal detail, and instead described his world, his European especially. This is a perfect entry point into his work; his last book and gift to us.

Tonic for our COVID-19 and human rights concerns

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Moving, wistful and a tribute to an identity not defined by borders but by refined culture and art. Stefan Zweig sees the start of two world wars. He chronicles a time of relative innocence before WW1, a time when a person did not need a passport to travel. (While that applied to Europeans, people of colour in the colonies were not yet admitted to the human race) Zweig reflects on a life illuminated by the presence of great minds of the first half of the 20th century - amid the descent of the Europe he loved into war. The shadow is a child of the light. A magical translation and an engaging narration.

Tragedy and Beauty

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Great memoir beautifully narrated and superbly translated by Anthea Bell. And still very relevant now. Does one ever learn from history?

Wonderful and Sad

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This is an interesting book offering a view of the life of a literary man in the early 20th Century.

A interesting look into another world

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