Contents
Franz Kafka
Writing The Metamorphosis and The Trial.
The Castle · Kafkaesque
- Born
- 3 July 1883
- Birthplace
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Died
- 3 June 1924
More people
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka wrote German-language fiction about people trapped by unsettling transformations and opaque systems. Much of the work that made him a defining modern writer appeared only after his death.
Early life
Prague family
He grew up in a German-speaking Jewish family in Prague.
Legal education
Studied law at the German university in Prague, completing his doctorate in 1906.
Career
- 1908
Insurance work
Joined the Workers’ Accident Insurance Institute, writing around his professional duties.
- 1912–1915
Published fiction
Brought out his first collection and the novella The Metamorphosis.
- 1922–1924
Final years
Retired through ill health and continued writing until his death from tuberculosis.
Selected work
The Metamorphosis
A travelling salesman wakes to find himself transformed into an insect-like creature.
The Trial
An unexplained arrest draws Josef K. into an inaccessible legal system.
The Castle
A land surveyor struggles to reach the authorities controlling a village.
Beyond work
Max Brod
His friend preserved and published manuscripts that Kafka had asked him to destroy.
Letters and relationships
His extensive correspondence records engagements, family tensions and his relationship with Dora Diamant.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: Unknown photographer. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
