Franz Hessel

Franz Hessel (November 21, 1880 – January 6, 1941) was a German writer and translator. With Walter Benjamin, he produced a German translation of three volumes of Marcel Proust's 1913-1927 work À la recherche du temps perdu in the late 1920s.[1]

Hessel's parents, Fanny and Heinrich Hessel, came to Berlin in 1880, and joined the Lutheran church (having been born Jewish).[2] Hessel became one of the first German exponents of the French idea of flânerie, and in 1929 published a collection of essays on the subject related to his native Berlin, Walking in Berlin (German: Spazieren in Berlin).[3][4] Reviewing the book in 1929, Benjamin described it as "an echo of the stories the city has told [Hessel] ever since he was a child—an epic book through and through, a process of memorizing while strolling around, a book for which memory has acted not as the source but as the Muse."[5] Concluding, Benjamin wrote: "if a Berliner is willing to explore his city for any treasures other than neon advertisements, he will grow to love this book."[6]

Hessel's son Stéphane Hessel became a diplomat.

Hessel inspired the character of Jules in Henri-Pierre Roche's novel Jules et Jim.[7][8]

English Translations

References
  1. https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=103677188
  2. http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/best-selling-french-author-and-holocaust-survivor-has-some-advice-for-israel-1.417320
  3. Hanssen, Beatrice (2006-08-10). Walter Benjamin and the Arcades Project. ISBN 9780826463876.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2010-01-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Benjamin, Walter (1999) [1929]. "The Return of the Flaneur". In Jennings, Michael W.; Eiland, Howard; Smith, Gary (eds.). Selected Writings Volume 2, Part 1: 1927–1930. Translated by Livingstone, Rodney. Harvard University Press. p. 262.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  6. Benjamin 1999, p. 266.
  7. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/25/style/25iht-blume_ed3_.html
  8. http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/23/julesjim.html%5B%5D


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