I should really be dreaming of somewhere warm, as it is most certainly not warm here. But Vienna it is, and no doubt it's cold there too, right now. Some years ago (more than I care to count) I lived in a little town outside Vienna called Wiener Neustadt. It is quite close to Vienna and I would travel there very often (nearly every weekend). I loved it there. The city is clean, well planned, full of gorgeous architecture and has the most efficient public transportation system that I've ever come across. I could go on and on (about the coffeehouses, the Sachertorte, Kartnerstrasse, the Ringstrasse, the Belvedere, the, the...) about the city. I have always wanted to return, but I've never set myself the task of saving money (there is always something else that needs to be taken care of before a proper vacation can be planned. Sigh.), so books are always the next best way to relive the city. Whenever I come across books set in Vienna I generally snap them up. So here is a list of books with Vienna as their subject, their setting, or by Austrian authors. I've read about half of them (most after I returned home), so details are a bit rusty, and of course the other half I can't wait to get to.
- The Painted Kiss, Elizabeth Hickey - This is a fictional account of fin-de-siecle painter Gustav Klimt (my favorite artist) and his muse (an artist in her own right) Emilie Floge. I've enjoyed everything I've read by Hickey by the way.
- The Piano Teacher, Elfriede Jelinek - She won the Nobel Prize a few years back. I'd heard of her long before when I was living in Austria. I've read a few things by Jelinek and I remember her as being somewhat hard going. I really do need to revisit her work.
- Song for Summer, Eva Ibbotson - This is a YA novel set in WWII Austria.
- Homestead, Rosina Lippi - I read this years ago and remember loving it, though details now are hazy. I seem to remember that it is a series of related stories about a small village. Another must reread.
- Road to the Open, Theodore Schnitzler - I've not read this. I'm a little in awe of Schnitzler, and have been a little afraid to tackle this one, but I think he's a very important Austrian author.
- In My Mother's House, Margaret McMullan - A story of mothers and daughters and wartime secrets.
- Design for Living, Lillian Langseth-Christensen - I found this in a reduced price book bin and for me it was a priceless find. It is an autobiography of sorts. Langseth-Christensen went to Vienna as a young girl in the 1920s to study under designer Josef Hoffmann. Wonderful book. I discovered it before I traveled to Austria. I really need to reread this one, too!
- Farewell Sidonia, Erich Hackl - Another wartime novel about a gypsy child protected from the Nazis by a Christian couple.
- Beware of Pity, Stefan Zweig - This is definitely on my list of books I am going to read this year. I've mentioned it several times. It is set in the farther reaches of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
- Vienna, Eva Menasse - Another book I will be reading (soon I hope). I've listed this as a challenge book, so it is in my sights. It's about one Viennese family, though from what I've read--not told in a linear fashion. I'm looking forward to this!
- The Strange Case of Mademoiselle P., Brian O'Doherty - This is set in 18th-century Vienna and features Franz Mesmer.
- The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust , Edith H. Beer - This is a compelling read. I've always been drawn to Holocaust survivor's tales (though it's been a while since I've read a book like this).
- A Nervous Splendor: Vienna 1888-1889 , Frederic Morton - Yes, at one time I read proper history books. What do I remember from it? The salacious part of course--Crown Prince Rudolf's suicide.
And a few more: The Artist's Wife by Max Phillips (Alma Schindler and Gustav Mahler), Arrogance by Joanna Scott (Egon Schiele) and The Silent Woman by Susan Dodd (Oskar Kokoschka and more Alma Mahler--she got around!). I'm sure I have more books on Austria (travel narratives, history books, lots of art books, and even a cookbook), but perhaps I'll save them for another day as it would require stack shifting to get to them! Of course I am always happy to discover new books, so if you've read something set in Vienna or Austria please do share. The Geraldine Brooks novel, People of the Book, is set very partially in Vienna by the way.