Introduction by Ritchie Robertson

Fame--too late for the author

The son of a shopkeeper, lost in Prague

What does a boy learn at an Imperial and Royal Secondary School?

University, society and language in the capital of Bohemia

'Description of a Struggle': the insurance official, his job, his plans and his journeys

The only way to write!

Life or literature? Kafka's engagements and The Trial

The wound

A naked man among the clothed

Notes

Map of Prague

Chronology

List of Works

Further Reading

Picture Sources

Index

Klaus Wagenbach is a publisher and renowned Kafka expert. He has written six books on Kafka, including Kafka: A Biography of his Youth and Kafka's Prague.