1913: The Year before the Storm Main Edition

A hugely enjoyable idiosyncratic month by month narrative, in which the frenzy of artistic activity in London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and Trieste is conveyed with vigour and humour ― Daily Telegraph Published On: 2013-06-08

A vivid, richly textured book that chronicles a world crackling with talent, energy and foreboding ― FT Published On: 2013-07-20

A brilliant game of original quotations and tracings ― Der Spiegel Published On: 2012-10-22

Illies shapes his material not as a scholar, but as a wordsmith, as a story-teller with a strong sense for dramatic effect and composition…the most enjoyable book I’ve read in years ― Die Welt Published On: 2012-10-26

Illies makes the hundred years between 1913 and his readers disappear. A beautiful book. ― Süddeutsche Zeitung Published On: 2012-10-25

Illies is as astute a researcher as he is an observer of the zeitgeist … reads like something out of a magic realist novel. — Philip Oltermann ― Guardian Published On: 2013-07-20

I couldn’t stop reading – Illies’ stories are simply magnificent — Ferdinand von Schirach

Thorough and fascinating ― Time Out Published On: 2013-07-09

An absolute gem of a book. His snapshot approach to the year, recorded month by month, is the most original historical account I’ve come across … Illies’s genius turn of phrase, beautifully retained by Shaun Whiteside and Jamie Lee Searle’s elegant translation, can be found throughout … The entries read like history’s footnotes, but as anyone who’s read Freud knows, the footnotes always tell the best story. — Lucy Scholes ― Observer Published On: 2013-07-21

A fascinating book of brief reports — Michael Prodger ― New Statesman Published On: 2013-07-26

A triumph … history that reads like memoir. It achieves what so few histories manage in giving the reader a genuine feeling for the era … Illies uses the facts skilfully to weave a captivating narrative. — Simon Round ― Jewish Chronicle Published On: 2013-07-26

There is a wry humour in many of Illies’s entries … an entertaining and illuminating study of a particular moment in time. — Shirley Whiteside ― Independent on Sunday Published On: 2013-08-04

A compelling tour through a portentous year … a sleek translation — James Walsh ― Morning Star Published On: 2013-08-26

Florian Illies gives a rationality, a sense of purpose to the seemingly random. — Lesley McDowell ― Sunday Herald Published On: 2013-08-04

Brilliantly sardonic … imagined on similar lines to Tom Stoppard’s Travesties — Richard Osborne ― The Oldie Published On: 2013-12-01

It’s an utterly delicious treat or an ideal present for anyone even mildly interested in 20th-century art, music and literature … Florian Illies presents modernism’s birth as a sexy, comic and occasionally heartbreaking soap opera … an irresistible book. — Michael Dirda ― Washington Post Published On: 2013-11-20

a riveting chronicle of a crucial year — Philip French ― Observer Published On: 2013-11-24

One of the most intriguing, and original, history books of the year … Illies’s approach turns history into a giant jigsaw with the pieces moving blindly and ominously into place. — John Preston ― Daily Mail Published On: 2013-12-13

Books of the Year: History as a human comedy is seldom as wittily handled as in this clever satire based on fact, folly, a host of famous names and the comment that became a mantra as Europe staggered ever closer to war — Eileen Battersby ― Irish Times Published On: 2013-12-21

Stuffed with fascinating detail — Lucy Hughes-Hallett ― Times Published On: 2013-12-21