Address Unknown

ANNOTATION

Original published in 1938, Address Unknown created an immediate sensation. Written as a series of letters between an American and his former business partner who returned to Germany, the story was one of the first to expose the poison of Nazism. As anti-Semitism is resurging in Europe, Address Unknown is a sobering reminder that history can repeat itself.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A rediscovered classic, originally published in 1938—and now an international bestseller.

When it first appeared in Story magazine in 1938, Address Unknown became in immediate social phenomenon and literary sensation. Published in book form a year later and banned in Nazi Germany, it garnered high praise in the United States and much of Europe.

A series of fictional letters between a Jewish art dealer living in San Francisco and his former business partner, who has returned to Germany, Address Unknown is a haunting tale of enormous power and enduring impact.

About the Author:

Kathrine Kressmann Taylor (1903-1996) was an undiscovered writer before the 1938 publication of Address Unknown. She won her first writing award at the age of eleven, and with the prize money bought herself a set of The Book of Knowledge. Taylor went on to write three books and more than a dozen short stories, one of which was included in The Best American Short Stories of 1956. For nineteen years, she was a professor of creative writing and journalism at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, where she was the first woman to earn tenure.

FROM THE CRITICS

Variety

A marvel of a tale, with an "Oh, wow" ending.

Minneapolis Star Tribune

The story is akin to the sly plot twists of O. Henry. Believe me, Address Unknown will leave you breathless with admiration.

New York Times Book Review

This modern story is perfection itself. It is the most effective indictment of Nazism to appear in fiction.

Publishers Weekly

First published in 1938 in Story magazine as a wake-up call warning Americans of the true nature of the Nazi menace, this punchy epistolary tale enacts a stunning drama of friendship, betrayal and vengeance. In 1932, San Francisco art-gallery owner Max Eisenstein, a Jew who grew up in pre-Nazi Germany, bids farewell to his longtime friend and business partner Martin Schulse, who returns with his family to Munich, where he becomes a Nazi. Through their letters to one another, which quickly move from warmth to a chilling disregard, we watch as the once-liberal Martin, seduced by grandiose visions of German destiny and by the rantings of ``our Glorious Leader,'' vents an anti-Semitism that he tortuously rationalizes. Max, alarmed by reports of anti-Jewish persecution in Germany, asks Martin to look after his actress sister, Griselle, who is performing in Berlin. When she is murdered by Nazi storm troopers after being refused refuge at the Schulse house, Max takes revenge through a clever epistolary ploy that provides a satisfying surprise ending. Nearly 60 years after its initial publication, Kressman's story serves not only as a reminder of Nazi horrors but as a cautionary tale in light of current racial, ethnic and nationalist intolerance. (Mar.)

Library Journal

Published to acclaim and impressive sales-50,000 copies-in 1938, this is one of the earliest pieces of Holocaust fiction. The epistolary novel reveals the rising tide of evil in Germany through the correspondence between two friends, one of whom is living in San Francisco, the other in Berlin. Read all 6 "From The Critics" >

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING