Leo Perutz
Leo Perutz was a notable German-language writer born on November 2, 1882, in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He came from a wealthy Jewish family and pursued studies in philosophy as well as statistics and actuarial science at the University of Vienna. Perutz's literary career began before he served in World War I, where he faced serious injuries but later transitioned to roles in mail censorship and war correspondence. His early works, including the novel "Die dritte Kugel," exhibit themes of fate and the supernatural, establishing a unique narrative style marked by wit and an elegant prose.
Despite gaining acclaim for novels such as "The Marquis de Bolibar" and "The Swedish Cavalier," Perutz faced challenges after fleeing to Tel Aviv in 1938, with limited opportunities to publish in a foreign land. His final major work, "By Night Under the Stone Bridge," reflects his connection to Prague and its Jewish community. After experiencing a decline in recognition during his later years, Perutz is now celebrated as a significant figure in German literature, known for his storytelling prowess and deep insights into history and human behavior. He passed away on August 25, 1957, in Bad Ischl, Austria.
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Leo Perutz
- Born: November 2, 1882
- Birthplace: Prague, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Czech Republic)
- Died: August 25, 1957
- Place of death: Bad Ischl, Austria
Biography
Leopold Perutz was born on November 2, 1882, in Prague, then a major city of the Austro- Hungarian Empire. He was one of four children of wealthy Jewish textile-plant owner Benedikt Perutz. In 1899 the Perutz family moved to Vienna, where Leo attended the Erzherzog Rainer- Real-Gymnasium. He left the school in 1902, but not before joining a circle of fellow students who shared his interest in literature and who called themselves the Free Light. Subsequently he studied philosophy at the University of Vienna and statistics and actuarial science at the Vienna University of Technology.
With the opening of World War I, Perutz joined the Austro-Hungarian infantry, but was seriously wounded on August 16, 1916, on the Galician front. After several operations and months of recovery, he was reassigned to censoring mail and decoding. He finally worked as a war correspondent reporting from Romania and the Ukraine. In 1918 Perutz married Ida Weil, who died a decade later while giving birth to their third child. Perutz married a second time in 1935, to Grete Humburger.
Besides being a highly accomplished writer, Perutz was an insurance actuary who devised a theorem, the Perutz Equalization Formula, widely used in the industry. He worked from 1907 to 1908 for the Assicuranzioni Generali in the Adriatic port of Trieste and from 1908 to 1923 for the Anker Insurance Company in Vienna. When Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Perutz fled to Tel Aviv in Palestine (now Israel). After World War II, the writer was able to spend part of each year in Austria, and died of a heart attack in the Austrian town of Bad Ischl on August 25, 1957.
Perutz published his first novel before he entered the infantry. Set in the sixteenth century, Die dritte Kugel (the three bullets) is an ambiguous story of fate and vengeance incorporating an element of the fantastic. The novel set a pattern for the works that followed, including the outstanding novels The Marquis de Bolibar and The Swedish Cavalier. They typically were written with sly wit, an elegant style, and a teasing suggestion of the supernatural.
Perutz had established a considerable reputation by 1938 and was widely translated, but as a German-language writer he was at a distinct disadvantage in Palestine. He published only one more novel in his lifetime, By Night Under the Stone Bridge. Set in his birthplace of Prague, this episodic work involves the mystically inclined Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II and his relations with key members of the city’s large Jewish community.
Nearly forgotten during the latter part of his life, Perutz has been recognized since his death as one of the most significant German-language writers of his time, a novelist who can be appreciated as both a polished storyteller and a perceptive student of history and human affairs.