In a German Pension: 13 Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) [Paperback]

Katherine Mansfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 1995 | Series: Dover Thrift Editions

Rich, psychologically probing stories: "Germans at Meat," "The Baron," "The Modern Soul," "The Advanced Lady" and nine others.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Pitting a breezy English sensibility against stuffy German manners makes this the funniest, most caustic collection of Mansfield's stories.' - The Guardian Review --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Hesperus Press, as suggested by their Latin motto, Et remotissima prope, is dedicated to bringing near what is far—far both in space and time. Works by illustrious authors, often unjustly neglected or simply little known in the English–speaking world, are made accessible through a completely fresh editorial approach and new translations. Through these short classic works, which feature forewords by leading contemporary authors, the modern reader will be introduced to the greatest writers of Europe and America. An elegantly designed series of genuine rediscoveries. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (October 24, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 048628719X
• ISBN-13: 978-0486287195
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,408,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and descriptive prose, June 28, 2006

By 

DONALD G. FOX "Santee Sioux" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In a German Pension (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

Within the stories of this collection, which the author considered "immature," there is some great descriptive prose around German characteristics and perspective which can even be said to live on in present Germany. Most impressive is Mansfield's gift in rummaging about in the German psyche. While some of the stories may seem melodramatic, e.g., "The Child-Who-Was-Tired," there are some very entertaining moments in which the author thoughtfully pulls out themes that include sycophancy, overbearance, resignation, mediocrity, selfishness, vanity, truculence, and compunction. For those who love German history and German culture, this is an essential volume.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not to be taken too seriously, May 29, 2011

By 

A. Feeney (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In a German Pension (Kindle Edition)

This collection of short pieces shows early signs of Mansfield's talents, particularly her sense of the absurd and ability to skewer pretensions, but also shows how much she was to develop as an author. Here, she relies too heavily here on stereotypes (the self-absorbed actress, the pompous German) and on painting with too broad a brush.

That said, these stories are amusing in their own right, though definitely not the great short stories she would later write.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Prelude to Conflict, February 27, 2005

By 

Bill Keeth (Manchester, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In a German Pension (Paperback)

New Zealander Katherine Mansfield (nee Kathleen Beauchamp), one of the key modernist authors linked to the so-called Bloomsbury set, said of this, her first commercially published work: 'It was a bad book, but the press was kind to it.'

Well, maybe it's not as bad as she says - and certainly it's a must-have for anyone who's interested in her work - but, when you get right down to it, this is a bunch of stories, the theme of each one of which is "All Germans are stupid and the first person singular Anglophile narrator (Miss Mansfield) is a wonderfully civilised smart ass for pointing it out!"

Well, okay if you say so, Miss Mansfield . . . I don't think! And neither do you, I suspect - not in your literary heart of hearts. Because it's the original date of publication of the book which gives us a clue regarding the kindness that was shown to it by the press: 1912 - just two years before WWI broke out, thanks in part to press jingoism . . . and to anti-German propaganda in bad books like this one.