Franz Kafka (1883–1924) lived through one of the most turbulent periods in modern history, witnessing a world war, the dissolution of an empire and the foundation of a new nation state. But the early twentieth century was also a time of social progress and aesthetic experimentation. Kafka's novels and short stories reflect their author's keen but critical engagement with the big questions of his time, and yet often Kafka is still cast as a solitary figure with little or no connection to his age. Franz Kafka in Context aims to redress this perception. In thirty-five short, accessible essays, leading international scholars explore Kafka's personal and working life, his reception of art and culture, his engagement with political and social issues, and his ongoing reception and influence. Together they offer a nuanced and historically grounded image of a writer whose work continues to fascinate readers from all backgrounds.

'… tightly argued essays by some of today's foremost scholars.' The Times Literary Supplement
'Few recent books on Kafka have been as informative as this collection of essays, which looks at the many ways one can approach Kafka's writings. … This review cannot do justice to the scope and value of Duttlinger's collection. Highly recommended.' R. C. Conrad, Choice

Carolin Duttlinger is Associate Professor in German at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of Wadham College, and Co-Director of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre. An international expert on German modernism, she been awarded numerous prizes and fellowships, including the Zvi-Meitar/Vice-Chancellor Oxford University Research Prize in the Humanities. She is the author of Kafka and Photography (2007) and The Cambridge Introduction to Franz Kafka (Cambridge, 2013), the co-editor of Walter Benjamins anthropologisches Denken (2012) and the editor of Franz Kafkas 'Betrachtung': Neue Lektüren (2014).