Alexander Lernet-Holenia with actress Dora von Seiffert and count of Thun during a boat trip on the Wolfgangsee - Photographer: Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1934.
Gallery of Alexander Lernet-Holenia
Gallery of Alexander Lernet-Holenia
Alexander Lernet Holenia as soldier during First World War.
Alexander Lernet-Holenia with actress Dora von Seiffert and count of Thun during a boat trip on the Wolfgangsee - Photographer: Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1934.
(The adventures of the Prussian cavalry lieutenant Keller ...)
The adventures of the Prussian cavalry lieutenant Keller are primarily of an erotic nature. In the First World War on the run, the young officer always comes back into situations that also have their funny and cheerful sides. Behind the Russian line and, so to speak, in the eyes of the Cossacks pursuing him, he transforms into cowherd Kasha, is promoted to the maid, and brings the gentlemen in uniform and civilian clothes around in considerable confusion, then brings some young ladies in less unusual, but not exactly unobjectionable difficulties and finally reaps, actually contrary to own expectations, but not without his action, double reward for all these acts.
(A young man literally forgets his love in pain over the d...)
A young man literally forgets his love in pain over the decline of an empire, a hierarchy, an order, and finds it again only after he has brought back the symbol of that order, the standard of his regiment entrusted to him, and together with the other soldiers of the smashed army Symbol of a sinking world in fire has seen decay. Alexander Lernet-Holenia presents these passionate emotions in a fantastic, exciting action in which even the end of the First World War found poetic reflection. The elemental outburst of a mutiny in the collapsing Danubian monarchy and the suddenly awakening sense of homeland of the Polish, Rumanian and Ruthenian peasants are as unforgettable as the radiant love story, which survives all doom.
(Winter 1915, World War I. The Austrian Baron Bagge rides ...)
Winter 1915, World War I. The Austrian Baron Bagge rides in the northern Carpathians at the end of a squadron. On a bridge it comes to the battle, which can decide the attacking riders for themselves. But the further events take an unexpected course.
(Marshal Louis de La Trémouille's small army has stopped o...)
Marshal Louis de La Trémouille's small army has stopped off en route to Naples, to buy objects d'art for King Louis XII of France. Naturally, Leonardo da Vinci's workshop is on the shopping list; and during their visit to his house, the young nobleman de Bougainville chances upon the not-quite-finished Mona Lisa. He promptly, utterly and hopelessly falls in love with the woman in the painting, and is determined to find her - despite rumours that she has long ago died. A visit to an empty tomb, assault upon an Italian nobleman's mansion, duel and execution later, the secret of la Gioconda's smile is (possibly) revealed. An entertaining story, told with style - about love, life, art, and the Quixotic things that a man will do to realize his dream.
(Summer 1917. Lieutenant Strahlenheim, a young k.u.k. Offi...)
Summer 1917. Lieutenant Strahlenheim, a young k.u.k. Officer, Comes to the recovery at the Wolfgangsee and meets here on the beautiful seventeen-year-old Lola. A flighty encounter, which soon turns into affection and love ...
(In the twilight of the unexplored intermediate realm, whi...)
In the twilight of the unexplored intermediate realm, which is traveled only by poets and ecstatic, in the border area between life and death runs this strange story of an Austrian reserve officer who - torn from an incipient love adventure abruptly - plunges into the wild adventure of war.Mars in Aries - the red planet in the constellation of Aries - is interpreted astrologically as a war phenomenon. Here the constellation is the metaphysical symbol for the intervention of psychic powers in the fate of the individual.
(This novel of an Austrian regiment, uniting the deeds and...)
This novel of an Austrian regiment, uniting the deeds and dreams of generations at the focal point of the downfall, fully reproduces the magic and power of the transient. Long after the end of World War I and the dissolution of the regiment, the adventure continues in a mysterious way. At the time of peace, his former officers fall victim to a chain of events inexplicable circumstances. A woman appears as the cause of the fatality whose causes are deeper.
Alexander Lernet-Holenia was an Austrian poet, novelist, dramaturgist and writer. He was also a contributor to periodical Der Monat.
Background
Alexander Lernet-Holenia was born on October 21, 1897, in Vienna, Austria. He was the son of Alexander Lernet and Sidonia (Holenia) Lernet. Growing up, Lernet-Holenia was all too aware of the political turmoil in Austria. Many of his closest family members were involved in the military on some level, including his father who was a lieutenant commander in the Austrian navy. When he was still a young child, Lemett-Holenia’s father left him and his mother. It was after being abandoned that the young boy added his mother’s maiden name, Holenia, to his surname.
Education
In July 1915 Alexander finished high-school in Waidhofen an der Ybbs and took up Law studies at the University of Vienna, but volunteered for the Austro-Hungarian army in September 1915.
Career
Lemet-Holenia was barely eighteen when World War I broke out. He enlisted in the Austrian cavalry, joining the war effort. His service was short-lived, and when Lemet-Holenia returned from the fighting, he began writing poetry. This early work received both strong criticism as well as great praise from various literary sources. However, in the mid-1920s, he shifted literary gears and began writing plays.
Lernet-Holenia achieved both critical and popular success with his plays, owing much of his style and subject matter to the traditional Austrian literature of the nineteenth century. Of these traditions, he tapped into the common trend of social analysis and commentary, borrowing his style from the impressionists as well as stream of consciousness writing reflective of Austrian analyst Sigmund Freud.
When World War II commenced, Lernet- Holenia found himself once again going to war. He was wounded during the battle, and sent home to recuperate. Following World War II, Lernet-Holenia once again shifted literary gears, focusing this time on writing novels. War proved to be a catalyst for much of his writing of this period. Many of his works are set in Austria just before, during, and after World War I; the end of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918, with its concomitant social upheaval, fascinated him. He wrote mostly about the circles he knew best, aristocrats and military officers; his attitude towards this milieu is by no means uncritical, and it even became aggressive later in his life.
Of these early novels, Lernet-Holenia remained thematically consistent. Regardless of the time period, he appeared obsessed with the realm between life and death. At the beginning of 1957, together with Friedrich Torberg he co-edited the intellectual culture magazine Forum.
Lernet-Holenia is most commonly known for producing a heterogeneous literary opus that included poetry, psychological novels describing the intrusion of otherworldly or unreal experiences into reality, and recreational films.
His best work during this era are two novels, Die Standarte (The Standard), and Der Baron Bagge (Baron Bagge).
(This novel of an Austrian regiment, uniting the deeds and...)
1942
Religion
In 1923, Alexander Lernet-Holenia, originally a Protestant, converted to the Roman Catholic faith.
Views
Throughout his career, Lernet-Holenia seemed obsessed with finding the answers to life’s eternal question: why are we here? At various points in his personal life, he seemed to have different answers that in turn correlated to his writing. In the 1930s through the early 1950s, in addition to his interest in the realm between life and death, Lernet-Holenia frequently turned to the loss or exchange of identity for literary fodder. This concept is a crucial element in several books, including Ich war Jack Mortimer (Was Jack Mortimer), Ein Traum in Rot (A Dream in Red), Beide Sizilien (The Two Sicilies), Die Inseln unter dem Winde (The Windward Islands), and Die weibe Dame (The White Lady). Additionally, Lernet-Holenia dabbled in the supernatural, infusing it into his novel Mars im Widder, which was confiscated by the Nazis, and did not circulate until 1947, six years after its initial publication.
In the late 1950s and into the 1960s, Lernet-Holenia began addressing more current issues in his work. In these later literary efforts, he mixes a reflective quality with amusing action. Additionally, he illustrates his knowledge of political and historical situations both within his own country as well as abroad. This new approach lent itself not only to novels, but to essays and biographies as well. It seemed Lernet-Holenia was well versed in not only numerous creative formats, but in his breadth of subject matter as well.
Membership
Alexander Lernet-Holenia served as president of the Austrian P.E.N. Club.
Personality
Critics have not been kind to Austrian author Alexander Lernet-Holenia, both during his career and since his death. He was often ridiculed for adhering to Austrian literary tradition, criticized for being too conservative, and rejected for his lack of creative innovation. What these critics miss in passing such quick judgement upon Lemet-Holenia are his literary strengths. Most notable is his elegant writing style that often delved into the turbulent era of his homeland in the early to mid-twentieth century. While he did borrow much, in both style and content, from those Austrian writers who came before him, Lemet-Holenia also carved out a niche for himself in his obsession with the realm between life and death.
Quotes from others about the person
“Lernet-Holenia's writings are uneven in quality, and it is true that his oeuvre ranges from light entertainment to works of classical perfection and beauty; but the existence of such a spectrum does not mean that its lighter end is inferior. His lighter plays and novels offer sophisticated entertainment on a high level; in his more subtle works he creates his own poetical world. Without forsaking the elegant urbanity of his style he draws images and symbols that lead the reader to the frontiers of experience, especially the mysterious expanse that lies between life and death.” - Hugo Schmidt
Connections
Lernet-Holenia was married to Eva Volbach.
Father:
Alexander Lernet
Mother:
Sidonia (Holenia) Lernet
Wife:
Eva Volbach
References
DLB 85: Austrian Fiction Writers after 1914
World War I marked the close of an era for the vast, powerful and diverse Austro-Hungarian empire. By the end of the war, a population of nearly fifty million people had been reduced to fewer than eight million. Writers of the early postwar period tended to be nostalgic for Austrias former imperial greatness. Then, when Hitler unified Austria and Germany in 1938, many Austrian writers were driven into exile.
