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Over a period of several years Stefan Zweig worked on four substantial books set in the age and sphere of the French Revolution. The first of these was his biographical novel Joseph Fouché. Bildnis eines politischen Menschen (Joseph Fouche: The Portrait Of A Politician) from 1929, followed in 1931 by the tragicomedy Das Lamm des Armen (The One Ewe Lamb) and in 1932 by the biography Marie Antoinette – Bildnis eines mittleren Charakters (Marie Antoinette – The Portrait of an Average Woman). Zweig’s fourth enterprise was a play about the Mainz Jacobin Adam Lux. Although it had preoccupied Zweig as early as the summer of 1928, it remained unfinished and was ultimately published from his posthumous papers in 1984.

Marie Antoinette turned out one of the best-selling titles of 1932, a book translated into several languages within the year of its publication. Here, Zweig narrates the story of the Vienna-born Princess Maria Antonia of Habsburg, who in 1770, aged only fifteen, married the heir to the French throne, soon to be King Louis XVI, and whose extravagant life as Queen Marie Antoinette at the court of Versailles ended under the guillotine during the French Revolution. Thus, Zweig resorted to a pattern of composition that he had extensively tried and tested in his earlier narrative prose: his novellas similarly tend to centre on personages whose august and seemingly secure position in society is shaken by external events and inner conflicts, to a degree that their very life may be in danger. A few years later, Zweig would choose a very similar historical subject matter in his biography of Mary, Queen of Scots.

So far, no complete manuscript of Marie Antoinette – a book whose first edition runs to nearly 650 pages – has been discovered among Zweig’s posthumous papers. However, a number of drafts, individual chapters, and chapter fragments dating from various stages of writing and proofreading have survived. In addition, Zweig’s autograph collection, which served him as an important source of inspiration for several of his works, is known to have contained a significant number of manuscripts belonging to the sphere of Marie Antoinette and the age of the French Revolution. While the remains of his library no longer include any source works for Marie Antoinette, they do comprise several voucher copies (so-called “Hausexemplare”) of his book in foreign-language editions.

In spite of the gaps in the transmission, the surviving materials, drawn from various collections and here presented as an ensemble for the first time, offer a detailed insight into Stefan Zweig’s work on one of his best-known books.

Journal kept during
the autumn of 1931

o:szd.8369

About the Item

After a more than decade-long hiatus, Stefan Zweig resumed keeping a journal in the autumn of 1931. As Zweig himself explains at the beginning of the volume, his specific motivation was the death of Arthur Schnitzler, but he also points to the political circumstances as a reason for wishing to keep a record of the day-to-day events of his life. Schnitzler’s death, following that of Rainer Maria Rilke (in 1926) and of Hugo von Hofmannsthal (in 1929), marked the passing of yet another colleague whom Zweig had known well and whom he had admired since his earliest days as a writer.

The space of the diary also covers Zweig’s 50th birthday on November 28, 1931, which he celebrated not at his Salzburg home, but with his colleague Carl Zuckmayer in Munich. Literary projects discussed in some detail include work on his biography of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, usually referenced in the journal by “M.A.”, and his communications with Richard Strauss, for whose opera Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman) Zweig wrote the libretto. At some later point, Zweig added a note in blue crayon on the book’s title page, “Richard Strauss darin” (“Richard Strauss inside”) – probably in the course of preparations for his autobiographical work, Die Welt von Gestern (The World of Yesterday), in which he provides an extensive account of his collaboration with Strauss.

Catalogue Link

Diaries, SZ-AAP/L7

Metadata

AuthorZweig, Stefan Person
Title (original)Tagebuch 1931
Identifying Inscription„Tagebuch 1931 21. October begonnen“ in purple ink and „Richard Strauss darin“ in blue pencil, holograph
Dates1931 21. October begonnen
LanguageGerman
Physical DescriptionNotebook, 76 leaves, writing on 25 leaves, inserted: manuscript, 3 leaves; telegram form, 22x14 cm, Chequered wrappers
Writing MaterialSquared paper, perforated at the hinge
Writing InstrumentPurple ink, pencil, blue pencil
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig
EnclosuresInserted manuscript, 3 leaves, holograph in pencil, entitled „Richard Strauss 1935 Juni Brieg“, 17x11 cm
Austrian Telegraph telegram form, blank, 23x18 cm
ProvenanceAtrium Press
AcquiredAcquisition from Christie's London 2014
Current LocationLiteraturarchiv Salzburg, SalzburgStandort
SZ-AAP/L7

Bookmarks from a study of
Le Moniteur

o:szd.8265

About the Item

Zweig rarely provides exact references for his quotations, yet all his historico-biographical studies were based on a close examination of original documents and primary sources.

17 bookmarks with his handwritten notes have survived, formerly inserted between the pages of two 1840 volumes reprinting the Parisian newspaper Le Moniteur Universel from 1793, through which Stefan Zweig worked his way in the course of his research. One by one, he tore and cut narrow strips from various pieces of paper, including a draft letter, an Insel Verlag envelope addressed to him, and a pre-printed form. While the set used by Zweig is no longer extant, the books must still have been available to the actor Georg Marischka, in whose estate the bookmarks were discovered: happily, he took care to note the precise volume and page numbers from which he removed the paper strips, thus allowing for identification of the sources consulted by Zweig.

Metadata

AuthorZweig, Stefan Person
Title (assigned)Bookmarks from „Le Moniteur“
LanguageGerman
Physical DescriptionCollection of 17 leaves, various sizes, fragments cut to size, 6x2 cm bis 16x6 cm
Writing MaterialEnvelopes, pre-printed forms, book pages
Writing InstrumentPencil, red and blue pencil
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig, Georg Marischka
Note(s)Bookmarks from a study of the Paris newspaper „Le Moniteur“ from 1793 with holograph annotations
ProvenanceGeorg Marischka
AcquiredAcquisition
Current LocationAdolf Haslinger Literaturstiftung im Literaturarchiv Salzburg, SalzburgStandort
SZ-SAH/W1

First sketches for
Marie Antoinette

o:szd.6834

About the Item

Stefan Zweig probably used this small-sized notebook during his travels in the early 1930s. It contains sketches for several works, some as yet unidentified. The first pages contain notes for a novella, a designation to which Zweig appended that of “(Roman)” (“novel”). There are also several jottings of varying length for Marie Antoinette, all captioned by Zweig. Content and style indicate that these notes are from a very early stage of writing.

Numerous pages are blank, and at least one written page has been removed. On the stub that remained in the book the first letters of a word are legible – “An” for the heading “Antoinette”, or possibly “Au” for “Autografen” (“Autographs”), as is written elsewhere.

Metadata

AuthorZweig, Stefan Person
Title (assigned)Working notes S11
[Notes and drafts for „Novelle (Roman)“, „Scene mit Nähnadel“, „Scene mit dem Schweizer“, „Marie Antoinette“, and „Autografen“]
LanguageGerman
Physical DescriptionNotebook, 32 leaves
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig
ProvenanceHeirs of Stefan Zweig, London
AcquiredGift of the heirs of Stefan Zweig 2002
Current LocationReed Library – Stefan Zweig Collection, FredoniaStandort
SZ-AP2/W-S11

Sketches for the chapter
Geheimnis des Alcovens

o:szd.8246

About the Item

Like nearly all known notebooks used by Stefan Zweig, this one contains notes for several works, along with additional briefer jottings. The major part is taken up by sketches for an unpublished work of fiction. As was his wont at this stage of work, Stefan Zweig wrote the text proper on the right-hand side, then added insertions and extensive corrections on the left, often going through several revisions. To increase their visibility, these additions are frequently written at an oblique angle to the main text, sometimes employing different writing materials.

At some point, Stefan Zweig reversed the notebook for further use, thus inverting the orientation of the text. In this section, most of the pages are occupied by the later part of the second chapter of Marie Antoinette. This is probably the first version, written in pencil, as would reflect Zweig’s habit at this stage. The chapter’s later title, Geheimnis des Alkovens (“Secret of the Alcove”), has not yet appeared; in its place, Zweig simply set down “Schlagwort” (“catchword”). The ensuing notes consist of frequently incomplete or not yet perfectly shaped sentences. What is likely the chapter’s next stage of revision has also been preserved.

Metadata

AuthorZweig, Stefan Person
Title (assigned)Working notes 4
[Drafts for „Marie Antoinette“ and another work (novella on autographs)]
LanguageGerman
Physical DescriptionNotebook, 49 leaves, writing on 46 leaves, 21x14 cm, Ring-bound
Writing MaterialNotebook with stationer's label „LA RELIURE SPIRALE FABRICATION FRANÇAISE PARIS 1208“
Writing InstrumentPurple ink, pencil
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig
ProvenanceAtrium Press
AcquiredAcquisition from Christie's London 2014
Current LocationLiteraturarchiv Salzburg, SalzburgStandort
SZ-AAP/W42

Manuscript of the chapter
Geheimnis des Alcovens

o:szd.8252

About the Item

Although the text of this holograph ink draft is still far removed from its final shape and Stefan Zweig would subject it to several further revisions, the chapter now bears the caption “Geheimnis des Alcovens” (“Secret of the Alcove”) – a heading that would survive into the published first edition; merely the spelling of the word “Alcoven” was amended to “Alkoven”.

It is easy to discern that several words and parts of sentences were stricken out again shortly after being written. These changes were followed by a further revision which eliminated substantial passages of the text, still in the purple ink so distinctive of Zweig’s manuscripts, and ultimately – in red ink, for the sake of clarity – by a final revision of this stage of the manuscript.

In this chapter Stefan Zweig gives a candid account of the marital problems Marie Antoinette encountered with the French dauphin and later King Louis XVI Not least due to these passages, criticized as excessively risqué, Zweig decided to eliminate the chapter entirely in the course of his later revision, reworking parts of it into other sections of the book.

Metadata

AuthorZweig, Stefan Person
Title (original)Geheimnis des Alcovens
Identifying InscriptionTitle holograph in red ink
LanguageGerman
Physical DescriptionManuscript, 8 leaves, corrected, 27x21 cm
Writing MaterialLined paper
Writing InstrumentPurple and red ink, pencil, red pencil
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig
Paginationpaginated: 1, 2, 7-11
Additional MaterialVersion comparison: 20 leaves of printed book pages, copies, and typescripts by a later owner of the chapter „Geheimnis des Alcovens“
ProvenanceGeorg Marischka
AcquiredAcquisition
Current LocationAdolf Haslinger Literaturstiftung im Literaturarchiv Salzburg, SalzburgStandort
SZ-SAH/W2

Sketches
for Marie Antoinette

o:szd.8253

About the Item

These leaves, written in ink, probably reflect the same stage of the manuscript’s revision as those containing the separate chapter Geheimnis des Alcovens. They comprise parts of several chapters, including Die neue Gesellschaft (“The New Society”) and Die Königin wird unbeliebt (“The Queen Becomes Unpopular”), as well as Die letzte Fahrt (“Drive to the Scaffold”).

Again, a few passages were stricken out or changed immediately after being penned. There was one further revision in the same purple ink: an additional revision in red ink did not occur here, perhaps not being found necessary. Several editing marks in blue pencil reference longer insertions written on separate sheets, now lost. The page marked in blue pencil as an addition to a quotation from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe belongs to the chapter Die Freunde fliehen (“Friends Desert”), the additional pages of which are lacking.

Metadata

AuthorZweig, Stefan Person
Title (supplied/verified)Die neue Gesellschaft
[Drafts for the like-named chapter]
LanguageGerman
Physical DescriptionManuscript, 10 leaves, corrected, 27x21 cm
Writing MaterialLined paper
Writing InstrumentPurple ink, blue pencil
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig
ProvenanceAnna Meingast
AcquiredGift of Wilhelm Meingast 2000
Current LocationAdolf Haslinger Literaturstiftung im Literaturarchiv Salzburg, SalzburgStandort
SZ-SAM/W1.1

A corrected sheet from the typescript
of Marie Antoinette

o:szd.8257

About the Item

In common with most parts of the various stages of the Marie Antoinette working manuscripts, the typescript version that followed the holograph drafts is largely lost. One of the few surviving folios reveals that even this, supposedly a fair copy, was subjected to considerable further corrections before the passage was used – in revised form – for the chapter Die Eroberung von Paris (“Conquest of Paris”). An especially large paper size was used for typing, leaving a generous margin for corrections.

After the text was transferred to the next stage of revision, the sheet was used as waste paper to wrap a book or a stack of paper, as is indicated by remains of adhesive tape and by the crease marks particularly conspicuous on the reverse. The annotation “1924” on the back of the sheet probably refers to the contents of this package.

Metadata

AuthorZweig, Stefan Person
Title (supplied/verified)Marie Antoinette
LanguageGerman
Physical DescriptionTypescript, 1 leaf, corrected, 41x26 cm
Writing InstrumentPurple ribbon, purple ink
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig, unidentified hand
Paginationpaginated: 81
Note(s)Wrinkles and traces of folds, remains of adhesive tape, inscribed „1924“ on verso
ProvenanceHarald Böck
AcquiredAcquisition 2013
Current LocationLiteraturarchiv Salzburg, SalzburgStandort
SZ-SHB/W1

Galley proofs for the first edition
of Marie Antoinette

About the Item

The extant proofs for Marie Antoinette begin in the chapter Geheimnis des Alkovens and include the following chapter Debüt in Versailles (“Debut at Versailles”) as well as parts of Der Kampf um ein Wort (“Fight for a Word”). Most of these galleys are from the book’s third correction, as evidenced by the imprint at the head of each sheet prepared by the printer, Poeschel & Trepte in Leipzig. Although the text was already set in type, Zweig continued not only to make small corrections, but also to strike out entire paragraphs. Indeed, due to the extensive redactions, one part of the chapter Der Kampf um ein Wort is present in an additional fourth galley, and even this contains further changes. Like the chapter numbers, the page headlines printed here (and occasionally even added by hand) were not carried over into the printed first edition.

Metadata

AuthorZweig, Stefan Person
Title (assigned)Galley proofs for „Marie Antoinette“
Incipit„man frei und ehrlich von der langjährigen ehelichen Unfähigkeit Ludwigs XVI. spricht? …“
Dates[1932]
LanguageGerman
Physical DescriptionGalley proofs, 64 leaves, corrected, 22x14 cm
Writing InstrumentBlack ribbon, purple, black and red ink, pencil, red pencil
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig, Anna Meingast
Paginationpaginated: 33-80, 65-80
Note(s)Marked as 3rd correction (paginated 33 to 80) and probably a later correction in Anna Meingast's hand (paginated 65 to 80)
Additional Material1 leaf, fragment of a newspaper clipping from the magazine „Das Inselschiff“, spring 1933
ProvenanceLavinia Mazzuchetti
AcquiredGift of Dora Mitzky 1968
Current LocationThe National Library of Israel, JerusalemStandort
ARC. Ms. Var. 305 3 81

Contracts
for Marie Antoinette

o:szd.8284

About the Item

Several contracts with foreign publishers concerning Marie Antoinette have survived, as they have for numerous other books by Stefan Zweig. Zweig always managed his own reprint and translation rights, and the necessary accounting and correspondence entailed a considerable workload. In an effort to streamline the administration of rights and the filing of documents, the contractual data and terms were copied to the so-called Hauptbuch (“main ledger”).

Metadata

Parties InvolvedZweig, Stefan Person
Title (assigned)Publishing contract Grasset
[Marie Antoinette]
Place of CreationParis
Datesle Premier Février, mil neuf cent trente deux
LanguageFrench
Physical DescriptionTypescript, 1 leaf, 25x18 cm
Writing MaterialPre-printed contract form, hole punched
Writing InstrumentPurple ribbon, purple and black ink
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig, unidentified hand
Note(s)Form has typescript entries, stamp glued on recto, variously stamped; verso has holograph note „lu et approuvé“ signed by Stefan Zweig and an unidentified party
ProvenanceAtrium Press
AcquiredAcquisition from Christie's London 2014
Current LocationLiteraturarchiv Salzburg, SalzburgStandort
SZ-AAP/L13.1

Hauptbuch

o:szd.8360

About the Item

A significant portion of the work carried out in Stefan Zweig’s office was dedicated to the marketing of his books, long distributed internationally. This task he performed himself. Seeking to keep track of these various records, he set up the so-called Hauptbuch (“main ledger”) in 1932, entering into pre-printed double page forms the sold rights for each work and the contractual conditions negotiated with the publishers, translators, and film studios.

In not entirely consistent, but roughly chronological order, the large-sized volume individually lists monographs and in some cases even essays in collections, all referenced in a separate table of contents. Separate lines were pre-printed for the eleven foreign-language editions which were most likely to be published; another ten lines were reserved for editions in other languages. In several cases, this space proved only barely sufficient. The handwritten entries are mostly by Stefan Zweig himself, by his wife Friderike, and by his secretary, Anna Meingast.

When Stefan Zweig began to settle in England in 1934 and finally dissolved his Salzburg residence entirely in 1937, he insisted that the ledger remain with Anna Meingast. The final entry is on double page 77, regarding the anthology Begegnungen mit Menschen, Büchern, Städten (“Encounters with People, Books, Cities”), published in 1937. In anticipation, double page 75 included the book Ungeduld des Herzens (“Impatience of the Heart”) under its earlier working title Mord aus Mitleid (“Murder by Compassion”), as the French rights had been sold to the Paris publisher Grasset in December 1936, long before the manuscript was completed. The German original edition appeared only in 1939, when the Hauptbuch was no longer kept up to date. However, a copy of the ledger was prepared for further use during Zweig’s exile; this was maintained at his London office and is today in the possession of his heirs.

Metadata

AuthorZweig, Stefan Person
Parties InvolvedMeingast, Anna PersonZweig, Friderike Person
Title (assigned)„Hauptbuch“ (Principal Ledger)
Identifying InscriptionTitle-page inscribed „Mit Gott!“ by Anna Meingast (?) and „Begonnen August 1932“ holograph; table of contents
DatesBegonnen August 1932
LanguageGerman
Physical DescriptionLedger, 119 leaves, writing on 77 leaves, inserted: 1 letter; 1 postcard, 54x38 cm, Sewn, black leatherette binding, black leather spine and corners
Writing MaterialPre-printed form paper, marbled edges
Writing InstrumentPurple, black, red, brown, and blue ink, pencil, red and blue pencil
Secretarial HandStefan Zweig, Anna Meingast, Friderike Zweig, unidentified hand
PaginationPages up to 62 counted as double-pages (stamp), 63 through 77 counted by hand on the left-hand page
Note(s)Last leaf verso and lower pastedown have a list of „Übersetzer“ (translators) and „Ständige Verleger“ (permanent publishers)
EnclosuresLetter from the Mizpah Publishing Co. Ltd to Stefan Zweig, dated Tel-Aviv, 7th January 1934, 28x22 cm
Postcard from Curtis Brown Ltd, publishers, dated Berlin, 2 May 1933., 15x11 cm
ProvenanceAnna Meingast
AcquiredGift of Wilhelm Meingast 2000
Current LocationAdolf Haslinger Literaturstiftung im Literaturarchiv Salzburg, SalzburgStandort
SZ-SAM/L1