ABOUT BOOK

Frederick von Kammacher, about whose life cluster the incidents of the book, sets sail from Bremen in January, 1892. The date calls to mind Hauptmann's own visit to America: and the character suggests something of his creator's. Frederick is one of the "twilight souls" that lurked in the twilight of the late century: souls and days that seem faraway, tho Hauptmann is still their spokesman.(Translated by Adele and Thomas Seltzer.)