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Title details for A Legacy by Sybille Bedford - Available

A Legacy

by Sybille Bedford
Brenda Wineapple
ebook
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Two vastly different families—one Jewish, one Catholic—are joined in marriage in this “witty, elegant, and uproariously funny” historical drama set in pre-war Europe (Evelyn Waugh).

“Partly ironic, partly nostalgic, A Legacy calls to mind other novels that portray the zenith and decline of an ostentatious old order.” —The Wall Street Journal
A Legacy is the tale of two very different families, the Merzes and the Feldens. The Jewish Merzes are longstanding members of Berlin’s haute bourgeoisie who count a friend of Goethe among their distinguished ancestors.
Not that this proud legacy means much of anything to them anymore. Secure in their huge town house, they devote themselves to little more than enjoying their comforts and ensuring their wealth. The Feldens are landed aristocracy, well off but not rich, from Germany’s Catholic south. After Julius von Felden marries Melanie Merz the fortunes of the two families will be strangely, indeed fatally, entwined. 
Set during the run-up to World War I, a time of weirdly mingled complacency and angst, A Legacy is captivating, magnificently funny, and profound, an unforgettable image of a doomed way of life.
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Publisher: New York Review Books

Kindle Book

  • Release date: March 3, 2015

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9781590178270
  • Release date: March 3, 2015

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9781590178270
  • File size: 1048 KB
  • Release date: March 3, 2015
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Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Fiction Literature Historical Fiction

Languages

English

Two vastly different families—one Jewish, one Catholic—are joined in marriage in this “witty, elegant, and uproariously funny” historical drama set in pre-war Europe (Evelyn Waugh).

“Partly ironic, partly nostalgic, A Legacy calls to mind other novels that portray the zenith and decline of an ostentatious old order.” —The Wall Street Journal
A Legacy is the tale of two very different families, the Merzes and the Feldens. The Jewish Merzes are longstanding members of Berlin’s haute bourgeoisie who count a friend of Goethe among their distinguished ancestors.
Not that this proud legacy means much of anything to them anymore. Secure in their huge town house, they devote themselves to little more than enjoying their comforts and ensuring their wealth. The Feldens are landed aristocracy, well off but not rich, from Germany’s Catholic south. After Julius von Felden marries Melanie Merz the fortunes of the two families will be strangely, indeed fatally, entwined. 
Set during the run-up to World War I, a time of weirdly mingled complacency and angst, A Legacy is captivating, magnificently funny, and profound, an unforgettable image of a doomed way of life.
Expand title description text
Fiction Literature Historical Fiction