A study day to mark the 75th anniversary of the death of Stefan Zweig

The Austrian writer Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) was one of the most widely read and translated authors of his day. His many popular novellas, biographies and essays often focused on the fate of Europe and humanity after 1918. Zweig is less well known for owning a prestigious collection of literary, musical and historical manuscripts, which was most generously donated to the British Library by his heirs in 1986. The collection comprises autograph musical scores from composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Wagner, as well as original manuscripts of authors including Goethe, Balzac and Byron.

Join experts on Zweig as they discuss the cosmopolitan writer’s hopes for European unity and how his manuscript collection – his ‘magical circle of sublime figures’ – came to express these ideals. The study day commemorates the 75th anniversary of Zweig’s death, a death that was in part a result of his years in exile and thus his disconnection from the European culture he realised was lost to him forever. A new catalogue of the British Library’s Stefan Zweig Collection of Literary and Historical Manuscripts will be launched at a reception following the study day.

Lunch is not provided at this event.

An accompanying free display Stefan Zweig: The Magic of Manuscripts (21 February – 11 June 2017) in the Treasures Gallery will showcase some of the treasures from Zweig’s collection.

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