1921 Leather Edition of Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe — Owned by Scholar Marianne Lederer

Title: Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe (Romeo and Juliet in the Village)
Author: Gottfried Keller (1819 – 1890)
Illustrator: L. Bod
Genre: European Novella / Realist Fiction / Swiss Literary Classics
Edition: 1921 Illustrated Edition (Original German Text)
Publisher: Rösl & Cie., München (Munich)
Binding: Gilt-lettered green leather cover boards.
Association (Provenance): From the personal library of Marianne Lederer (1934 – 2026), renowned French translation scholar and co-pioneer of the Interpretive Theory of Translation. Inscribed by the author.
Condition: Very Good

Gottfried Keller's Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe stands as a masterpiece of Swiss Poetic Realism. Reimagining Shakespeare's classic tragedy in a rural Swiss landscape, Keller focuses on two young village lovers, Sali and Vrenchen, whose lives are destroyed by their families' bitter over land. It still explores the themes of love and conflict but diverges from the original by focusing on the socio-economic pressures faced by the protagonists. The feud leads to financial ruin and social ostracization, which ultimately drives the lovers to choose death over a life apart. The novella was adapted into an opera by Frederick Delius.

Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890) was a German-Swiss writer of Poetic Realism. His most remembered works include the autobiographical novel "Green Henry" and the short story collections "The People of Seldwyla" and "Seven Legends." His writing, characterized by a blend of realism and poetic depth, offers insights into Swiss society and politics of his time.

The book's previous owner, Marianne Lederer (1934 - 2026), whose name is inscribed on the front paste-down, is a French translation scholar. She helped develop the Interpretive Theory of Translation in collaboration with colleague Danica Seleskovitch. Her career includes tenure as a professor at the University of Paris XII-Val de Marne and the Ecole Supérieure d'Interprètes et de Traducteurs (ESIT) at the University of Paris 3, where she directed the Centre for Research and Translatology until her retirement.

German > English Translation of Inscription

"She seeks the ring that has fallen to dust,
Then turns herself to the making of a new existence.
She weeps for days—they passed away, child,
And a new light brings again a new baking (a fresh start/nourishment).

Grief is a superfluous guest. It lingers only if one willingly tolerates it;
And its heavy burden packs away in untamed haste,
When one finally pays tribute to the other, joyful guests."

Vienna, August 15th [1921]

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Condition: Very Good. Lacks dust jacket, as issued. Gilt-lettered green leather covers with brown leather spine: Bowed at the corners; light wear along all edges; several pinpoint scuffs, front and back; lightly bumped at the corners; small open tear at the head of the spine, and a small piece of leather coming loose. Top-edge gilt. Inscription in German on front fly leaf. Pages are clean, undamaged, and complete.