The poet, playwright and novelist Franz Werfel became first active in early modernism, had a prominent standing among writers of German Expressionism and later wrote best-selling novels which established his international fame. His texts are still read by many around the world.

Franz Viktor Werfel was born in Prague, Bohemia (now Czech Republic), on 10 September 1890 as the first child of Albine and Rudolf Werfel, a prosperous glove factory owner. The Werfels were assimilated Jews, and young Franz was not raised in orthodoxy. Later in life, he learned Hebrew and studied the Talmud and the Bible in depth: an influence reflected in many of his works. Like his friends from Prague, Max Brod and Franz Kafka, Werfel never forgot his …

1861 words

Citation: Schweissinger, Marc J.. "Franz Werfel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 April 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5468, accessed 21 November 2024.]

5468 Franz Werfel 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.