A vivid new translation of a timeless classic: Kleist's tense,
ambiguous novella about an unexpected pregnancy
In a Northern Italian town during the Napoleonic Wars, Julietta, a young
widow and mother of impeccable reputation, finds herself unexpectedly
pregnant. This follows an attack on the town's citadel, in which several
Russian soldiers tried to assault her before she was rescued by Count
F-, at which point she fell unconscious. Thrown out of her father's
house, Julietta publishes an announcement in the local newspaper stating
that she is pregnant and would like the father of her child to make
himself known so that she can marry him.
What follows is an ambiguously comic drama of sexuality and family
respectability. One of Kleist's best-loved works, The Marquise of O-
is an ingenious and timeless story of the mystery of human desire, and
Nicholas Jacobs's new translation captures the full richness of its
irony.