The stories in this collection illustrate Meyrink's fondness for the bizarre and the grotesque ? there is an ?incorrigible' vulture and, perhaps nor surprisingly, an ?impresario for freak shows'. But, more importantly, they also reflect his personal interest in the occult in pieces such as ?The Clockmaker', ?Cardinal Napellus', and ?J H Obereit's Visit to the Time-Leeches', ?Cricket Magic', and ?The Four Moon Brethren' evoke dark forces behind the apocalyptic cataclysm of the First World War. The short stories in this collection are supplemented by autobiographical writings such as ?The City with the Secret Heartbeat' on Prague and ?The Transformation of the Blood', in which Meyrink describes his lifelong pursuit of esoteric spirituality. AUTHOR: Gustav Meyrink (1868-1932) is now considered one of the most important German language novelists of the twentieth century. Dedalus is part of the Europe-wide movement championing Meyrink's work. A new translation of The Golem was published by Dedalus in 1995, and the first English translations of The Green Face, Walpurgisnacht, The Angel of the West Window, The White Dominican, and The Opal (and Other Stories), were published by Dedalus. The addition of The Dedalus Meyrink Reader means all of Meyrink's major work is available now in English.
