Walking in Berlin

Franz Hessel was born in 1880 to a Jewish banking family, and grew up in Berlin. After studying in Munich, he lived in Paris, moving in artistic circles in both cities. His relationship with the fashion journalist Helen Grund was the inspiration for Henri-Pierre Roche’s novel and, later, Francois Truffaut’s film Jules et Jim. Their son Stéphane went on to become a diplomat and author of the worldwide bestselling Indignez-Vous! (Time for Outrage!). He also co-translated Proust with Walter Benjamin, as well as works by Casanova, Stendhal, and Balzac. Franz Hessel died in early 1941, shortly after his release from an internment camp. Amanda DeMarco, is an editor, translator, and the founder of Readux Books. Originally from Chicago, she is currently based in Berlin.

‘Like a private invitation back to the city’s most beguiling era …  Irreverent and yet always enthusiastic, [Hessel’s] 88-year-old love letter to this city is a true map of the traces of a bygone world.’