This magnificent collection of Stefan Zweig's short stories employs all his sharp observation and vivid empathy to capture the best and worst of human nature. Passion lies at the heart of each of these twenty-two tales, all translated by the award-winning Anthea Bell. A humble hotel waiter's love for an aristocratic guest is so pure he is able to enlist the stars as his messengers; an exiled Frenchwoman's longing for the glitter of court life leads her to throw away a fortune on staging the perfect revenge; and a bookseller's lust for the printed word leads to his downfall in wartime Vienna.

Four decades of the quintessential European storyteller's career are assembled here - and all the highs and lows of human experience.