When Branded: A Diary was published in Berlin in 1920, Emmy Hennings was called the most important woman writer of her day. Her autobiographical novel offers a sharp critique of patriarchy and the social injustices of the last decade of the German Empire, infused with a mysticism that celebrates sexual love as a spiritual gift and assigns saintly status to beggars and sex workers. Over a century after the novel’s publication, this translation finally introduces an important modernist voice to English-language readers.

When Branded: A Diary was published in Berlin in 1920, Emmy Hennings was called the most important woman writer of her day. Her autobiographical novel offers a sharp critique of patriarchy and the social injustices of the last decade of the German Empire, infused with a mysticism that celebrates sexual love as a spiritual gift and assigns saintly status to beggars and sex workers. Over a century after the novel’s publication, this translation finally introduces an important modernist voice to English-language readers.