The Dykemaster (Angel Classics) - Softcover

Storm, Theodor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0946162549 ISBN 13: 9780946162543

Publisher: Angel Books, 1996

Synopsis

First English translation in thirty years of Storm's Der Schimmelreiter, one of the masterpieces of nineteenth-century German fiction. ""This tremendous tale, with which Storm made his conception of the Novelle the epic sister of drama..."" - Thomas Mann. The Dykemaster (1888), is the tale of a legendary young dykemaster at odds with his community. Innovative and creative, he designs a new form of dyke. While supervising his work, he rides his grey horse along the dyke. When he is unwilling to engage in a sacrificial ritual of a dog to celebrate completion of the work, villagers think he is in the hands of evil powers. The passing of time and tides contributes to this misconception and he becomes a legend, a phantom riding his grey along the dyke whenever the sea threatens to break through. Storm's highly sophisticated narrative-within-a narrative structure is far in advance of its time. Denis Jackson's brilliant translation of Der Schimmelreiter recreates the full impact of Theodor Storm's masterpiece. ""There is plenty of eerie Germanic mood here, but there is also a fine and tragic story of a man who follows his own path to its final, terrible end."" _Publishers Weekly.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The Dykemaster is the tale of a visionary young north Friesian Deichgraf of the 18th century, creator of a new form of dyke. The short-sighted and self-seeking community with which he is at odds turns him into a phantom, seen riding his grey along the dyke whenever the sea threatens to break through. The rationalistic storyteller, in a highly sophisticated narrative structure, belongs to a later age, and what he relates is a veiled critique of the dyke officials of his own day.

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

About this edition

• Publisher: Angel Books
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0946162549
• ISBN 13: 9780946162543
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 156