Letter from an Unknown Woman and Other Stories (Pushkin Press Classics)

By: Zweig, Stefan

Published by Pushkin Press Classics, 2026-07-28

You loved him for decades and he doesn't even know your name... A DEVASTATING PORTRAIT OF SILENT OBSESSION: Yearning, heartbreak, and tragedy unfold in this haunting autopsy of a broken heart. “In … Zweig's most famous story, an obsessive passion lays bare the truth about a hypocritical society civilized to the point of inhumanity.” —Salman Rushdie, The New York Times Translated by the award-winning Anthea Bell, these 4 pieces of Stefan Zweig’s short fiction are among his most celebrated and compelling work. The titular tale offers a devastating depiction of unrequited love. Returning home to Vienna, an author in midlife opens a letter from a woman he has no memory of, but who has loved him her whole life. From a youthful crush to a night of shared passion, she has shaped her entire existence around the quiet pursuit of his attention. Yet, despite their intimacy and a child born of their union, she remains a ghost in his biography. Elsewhere in the collection, Zweig explores the fragile architecture of the heart: A young man mistakes his beloved for her sister. Two former lovers reunite after a lifetime of silence. A married woman repays a haunting debt of gratitude to a childhood sweetheart. Expertly paced, laced with the acutely accurate psychological detail and empathy that are Zweig's trademarks, this is a powerful addition to Pushkin's unequalled collection of his work.