Letter from an Unknown Woman and Other Stories

By Stefan Zweig
Translated by Anthea Bell

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.

Paperback
160 pages
Pushkin Press Classics, 2026
5.1 x 7.8 inches
ISBN 9781782697633
Short Stories, Fiction