The Sufferings of Prince Sternenhoch: A Grotesque Tale of Horror

Fiction. Translated from the Czech by Carleton Bulkin. Ladislav Klima is considered to be one of the most important Czech philosophers of the 20th century, and arguably the greatest of the prewar era. His work has influenced artists of all stripes, most notably Bohumil Hrabal and the Plastic People of the Universe. Drawing his greatest inspiration from Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, Klima developed his conception of will and radical subjectivism in numerous essays, aphorisms, tracts, prose works, and plays, and though his work was banned by both the communists and Nazis, underground editions were widely circulated. THE SUFFERINGS OF PRINCE STERNENHOCH is the only full-length work of fiction Klima prepared for publication during his lifetime, and it can be considered a summation of his philosophy. In a series of journal entries, the book chronicles the descent into madness of Prince Sternenhoch, the German Empire1s foremost aristocrat and favorite of the Kaiser. Having become the "lowliest worm" at the hands of his deceased wife Helga, the Queen of Hells, he eventually attains an ultimate state of bliss and salvation. Klima uses dark humor to explore the paradoxical nature of pure spirituality in scenes that are comically grostesque and often obscene. This volume also includes his notorious essay "My Autobiography." Though Klima1s work has been translated into many European languages, this is the first book of his to appear in English. Jan Nemec's film based on the novel, In the Flames of Royal Love, is set for general world-wide DVD release the end of 2007.

"Despite the subtitle, this first English-language publication by Klima (1878-1928), a noted Czech philosopher, has little to offer readers of Stephen King. It is more screed than story, ostensibly the tale of a mad German prince who marries a completely appalling woman, who murders her father and infant before trysting with a filthy peasant who flogs her bloody while enduring her windy rants about her own abused, abusive and completely anti-social upbringing. Thus stimulated, the prince's 'romance' continues well after his wife's apparent death. There's much of the whip in all this, a great fascination with all things perverse, but nothing that makes any of the characters more than bizarre caricatures. Much scabrous wit and the hallucinatory nature of events leave the reader uncertain about taking anything seriously. Appended is the author's autobiography, in which he turns out to be as pathological as any of his characters, a genuine transgressive in the manner of de Sade. Either our legs are being pulled, or this a fine example of the Ambrose Bierce dictum that the philosopher specializes in giving advice to people who are happier than he is." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

This is Klma's only full-length work of fiction, a novelistic summation of his philosophy. In a series of journal entries, the book chronicles the descent into madness of Prince Sternenhoch, the German Empires foremost aristocrat and favorite of the Kaiser. Having become the lowliest worm at the hands of his deceased wife Helga, the Queen of Hells, he eventually attains an ultimate state of bliss and salvation. Klma uses dark humor to explore the paradoxical nature of pure spirituality in scenes that are comically grotesque and often obscene. includes his notorious essay My Autobiography This is Klmas first book to appear in English

Ladislav Klma (August 8, 1878 - April 19, 1928), was a Czech philosopher and Novelist influenced by George Berkeley, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. His philosophy is referred to varyingly as existentialism and subjective idealism.