Blei, Franz Pseudonym Medardus, Dr. Peregrinus Steinhövel#
b. Vienna, Jan. 18, 1871, d. Westbury (USA), July 10, 1942; narrative writer, dramatist, essayist, editor of literary magazines, numerous translations from French (Stendhal, C. Baudelaire, P. Claudel, A. Gide), lived in Munich, Vienna and Berlin, in 1931 went to Mallorca and then to the USA. Known as a discoverer and patron of great authors such as F. Kafka, R. Musil and H. Broch, famous for his essays, especially for his satirical portraits of writers.
Works#
essays: Bestiarium literaricum, 1920 (enlarged edition with the title "Das grosse Bestiarium der modernen Literatur", 1922); Geist des Rokoko, 1923; Glanz und Elend beruehmter Frauen, 1927; Maenner und Masken, 1930; Zeitgenoessische Bildnisse, 1940. - Editions: Vermischte Schriften, 6 vols., 1911-1912; Schriften in Auswahl, epilogue by A. P. Guetersloh, 1962; Portraets, published by A. Gabrisch, 1986; F. B.-A. Gide, Briefwechsel (1904-1933), ed. by R. Theis, 1997.Literature#
D. Harth (ed.), F. B., Mittler der Literaturen, 1997.