Zauberkreis Paris

• A literary discovery (trouvaille) from the 1930s in its first German publication.

• The novel of disillusioned love and female emancipation.

• A declaration of love for Paris.

• One of the first literary explorations of the topic &bdquo,Life in Parisian exile&ldquo, &ndash, with many autobiographical references and of contemporary historical value.

She is an artist's muse, a passionate author and the divorced wife of the painter Max Ernst: Luise Straus-Ernst. In 1934 she was commissioned by the German-language emigrant newspaper 'Pariser Tageblatt' to write a novel in exile: 'Zauberkreis Paris'.

This fast-paced, autobiographical novel tells the story of a couple torn apart under the pressure of Nazi conditions. While Peter goes into exile in Paris, falls in love with the mysterious Russian Borja and lives miserably through the day, Ulla tries to get by in spite of all the restrictions in her homeland. When, after a few months, she follows her boyfriend to the French metropolis, she discovers that he has meanwhile entered into a relationship with Borja and that their love has broken up.

Instead of resigning, Ulla faces the adversities of the foreign country: exile becomes a hard school for her, her struggle for a livelihood and recognition a process of emancipation and growing self-confidence. In the end, Peter gets caught up in a t&ouml,dal whirlpool of criminal machinations, while Ulla succeeds in finding herself anew by confronting the challenges of exile.

A unique pl&auml,doyer against the spirit and despondency, and at the same time for faith in the future.