The Adventures of Simplicius Simplicissimus

Written against a background of the Thirty Years' War and firstpublished in 1669 this renowned picaresque classic recounts withwonderful biting satire the vagabond adventures of a not-so-simplesimpleton during one of Europe's fiercest yet ultimately most futilewars. Simplicius is an earthy character; he humiliates the mightyconfounds the gods ridicules the pretentious. The translation uses the authoritative first edition for its text and though it has been slightly abbreviated no essential passages have been sacrificed. This unexpurgated translation reflects the linguistic turmoil andrichness of German in the 17th century; it is ideal as the centrepiecefor courses in German literature in translation and courses in theEuropean Baroque.