The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
()
About this ebook
This engaging summary presents an analysis of The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig, the author’s autobiography and a masterful depiction of the changes wrought by the two world wars in Europe. Zweig grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in Vienna at a time when the city was at the heart of a vast centuries-old empire and the cultural and artistic capital of the continent. However, he watched in horror as simmering tensions and growing nationalist fervour culminated in two bloody wars, resulting in countless deaths and destroying the Europe of his youth. Mounting anti-Semitism in Europe and the worsening of the Second World War led him to flee to Brazil with his wife, where they both committed suicide in 1942. He left behind a vast and influential body of work, comprising novels, novellas, essays, plays, biographies and poetry.
Find out everything you need to know about The World of Yesterday in a fraction of the time!
This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection
Why choose BrightSummaries.com?
Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.
See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!
Read more from Bright Summaries
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fifty Shades Trilogy by E.L. James (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Crucible by Arthur Miller (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeloved by Toni Morrison (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeath of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquez (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNaked Lunch by William S. Burroughs (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig (Book Analysis)
Related ebooks
7 best short stories - Germany Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Collected Essays Volume Two: Mary McCarthy's Theatre Chronicles, 1937–1962 and On the Contrary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudies In Classic American Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Harald Jähner's Aftermath Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRomain Rolland Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Magic Mountain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPolitics and the English Language and Other Essays Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStegner: Conversations On History And Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsÉmile Verhaeren Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Hope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amok Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jean-Christophe, Volume I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Of All That Ends Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Illuminations: Essays and Reflections Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kim Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoswell's Life of Johnson Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOut of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with D. H. Lawrence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Love and Tyranny: The Life and Politics of Hannah Arendt Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Quest of the Simple Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Praise of Idleness: The Classic Essay with a New Introduction by Bradley Trevor Greive Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Life of Samuel Johnson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Darling and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Burning Secret Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Giuseppe Ungaretti's "Variations on Nothing" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Radetzky March Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War and Peace (Maude translation) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
General Fiction For You
The Outsider: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anonymous Sex Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Unhoneymooners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life of Pi: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Covenant of Water (Oprah's Book Club) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Foster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Good and Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The City of Dreaming Books Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Sister's Keeper: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beartown: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shantaram: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad of Homer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig (Book Analysis)
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig (Book Analysis) - Bright Summaries
Austrian writer
Born in Vienna (Austro-Hungarian Empire, present-day Austria) in 1881.
Died in Petrópolis (near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in 1942.
Notable works:
Jeremiah (1917), play
Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman (1932), biography
The Royal Game (1941), novella
Stefan Zweig was an essayist, biographer, novelist, poet, translator, manuscript collector and, above all, a firm believer in European unity. He was born to an aristocratic Jewish family in Vienna and grew up in a privileged environment, before earning a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Vienna. From a young age, he took a keen interest in literature, especially poetry and theatre, and he garnered recognition in Vienna, a city renowned for its appreciation of the arts, for his first poetry collection, Silver Strings, which was published when he was just 19 years old.
Zweig grew up in comfortable circumstances, surrounded by friends and family who loved and admired him, but when he was at university, he decided that he wanted to leave this familiar environment behind and see the world. He spent time in Paris, where his social circle included many of the city’s bohemian writers, in Berlin, where he rubbed shoulders with people from every social class, and in New York, where he realised that America was on its way to becoming a world power. After travelling extensively across Europe, he became convinced of the need for a European identity that would transcend national borders.
He then returned to Vienna, but was soon forced to move again by the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918) and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He decided to go to Zurich, as Switzerland was a neutral power, meaning that it was still