Heinrich Heine

“A portrait of the poet as a crusader for truth and beauty in a world where both were in short supply.”—Adam Kirsch, Wall Street Journal

“Prochnik provides a jaunty narrative of Heine’s schooldays in Bonn and Göttingen, journalistic career in Berlin, and twenty-five-year exile in Paris, detailing his literary feuds, scraps with censors, and unwavering belief in political liberty.”—New Yorker

“Prochnik gives ample space to Heine’s emotional life [and] Heine’s attitude to his Jewish heritage proves to be a rewarding topic. . . . It is impossible to read about Heine without thinking how wonderful it would have been to meet him.”—Jonathan Rée, Literary Review

“It is a highly recommendable study . . . told beautifully by Prochnik, and the book is a fitting addition to Yale University Press’s Jewish Lives series.”—Andreas Hess, Society

“George Prochnik draws the historical background of Heine’s life with care and powerfully evokes a Jewish life in 19th century Germany with all its complexities, frustrations, and contradictions. Prochnik’s scrupulous analysis of the artist’s prose and poems allows for a deep understanding of this brilliant and tormented man.”—Anka Muhlstein, author of The Pen and the Brush