'One of the greatest European novelists of the century' Sunday Times Andreas is an alcoholic and a vagrant who lives under a bridge. Downtrodden, submerged at the bottom of society, he lives a fortuitous life - dictated by happenstance and the whims of others - until a run of exceptionally good luck lifts him, briefly, onto a different plane of existence. First published after Roth's death in 1939, The Legend of the Holy Drinker is haunting and melancholic, yet filled with empathy. A secular miracle-tale, it is an unforgettable testament to Roth's lucidity and compassion.

A short, boozy, perfectly cut gem of a story... Translated and introduced by that legend of a holy writer Michael Hofmann, it's funny and remarkable -- Stuart Hammond * Dazed and Confused *
The Legend of the Holy Drinker is a tale of patience rewarded... a dreamy Parisian Catholic setting, destitution softened by fairy tale * Times Literary Supplement *
Poignant -- Val Hennessy * Daily Mail *
This is a little book of sublime simplicity... magically told * Daily Express *
One of the greatest European novelists of the century * Sunday Times *

JOSEPH ROTH (1894-1939) was a prolific journalist and novelist. One of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, his work traces the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the rising fascist threat in Europe. On Hitler's assumption of power, he was obliged to leave Germany for Paris, where he died in poverty a few years later. His books include What I Saw, Job, The White Cities, The String of Pearls and The Radetzky March, all published by Granta Books. MICHAEL HOFMANN is the highly acclaimed translator of Joseph Roth, Franz Kafka, Hans Fallada, Bertolt Brecht, and many more. A poet and essayist, he also teaches at the University of Florida.