Beware of Pity

The only novel written by one of the most popular authors of the twentieth century, translated by the award-winning Anthea Bell. In 1913 young second lieutenant Hofmiller discovers the terrible danger of pity. He had no idea the girl was lame when he asked her to dance – so begins a series of visits, motivated by pity, which relieves his guilt but give her a dangerous glimmer of hope. Stefan Zweig’s only novel is a devastating depiction of the betrayal of both honour and love, realised against the background of the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.