Diary of an Erotic Life

by Frank Wedekind, William E. Yuill (Translator)

In these intimate journals, Frank Wedekind shows himself to have been in life what he is in his plays, a subversive artist and merciless critic of bourgeois morality. He lived and worked in Wilhelmine, Germany in the 1890's, that period of economic unstability, fin de siecle decadence and artistic ferment; among the contemporaries who pass through these pages are playwright Gerhard Hauptmann and revolutionary Alexander Herzen. Wedekind shot to fame in 1895 with the first of the Lulu plays, and compounded his renown with "Spring Awakening". His plays have been claimed as typical of the Jugendstil art movement, which included Parisian art nouveau and related activity in Vienna and Glasgow, and their visionary eroticism has clear links with these diaries. This ediction includes the thirty pages of Wedekins's Paris diaries which were omitted from the German version, and numerous corrections and additions as a result of returning to the handwritten original.

320 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1990

About the author

Frank Wedekind was a German dramatist whose bold, unconventional plays reshaped modern theatre by challenging social norms and exposing the hypocrisies of bourgeois morality, especially around sexuality. Raised between Germany and Switzerland and drawn early to travel, performance, and satire, he lived an eclectic life that included work in advertising, time with a circus, and a celebrated stint as a cabaret performer with the influential troupe Die elf Scharfrichter. His fearlessness as both writer and performer made him a central figure in the artistic circles of Munich, where his sharp wit and provocative themes influenced a new generation of socially critical satirists. His early play Spring Awakening caused an uproar for its frank depictions of adolescent sexuality, repression, and violence, while his two-part “Lulu” cycle introduced a character whose rise and fall exposed society’s fascination with desire and destruction. These works challenged censorship, pushed theatrical boundaries, and later inspired films, operas, and adaptations across decades. Wedekind’s personal life was intense and often turbulent, marked by complicated relationships, creative restlessness, and brushes with authority, including a prison sentence for lèse-majesté after publishing satirical poems. His marriage to the actress Tilly Newes brought both devotion and strain, reflected in the emotional swings of his later years. Even near the end of his life, recovering from surgery, he returned to the stage too soon, driven by the same energy that fueled his art. His influence extended well beyond his death, resonating through the Weimar era and shaping the development of expressionism and later epic theatre. Many of his works were translated, staged, or adapted by major artists, ensuring that his confrontational spirit and fearless exploration of human desire would remain part of the theatrical canon.

Reviews

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eine gute - nur leider nicht ganz vollständige? - Ausgabe. Mit schönen Bildern und hilfreichen Kommentaren versehen. Über den Inhalt mag jeder selbst urteilen :')

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of mentions of people in Mr. Wedekind's life (publishers, actors, etc.) I don't know that I would call his "an erotic life". He mentions quite a number of prostitutes, on whom he spends money, and there are a number of colorful descriptions, but at the same time he spent a lot of time working (i.e., writing), dealing with translators, complaining of toothache, worrying about money, etc. His diary entries say almost nothing about his work, though, only that he was working (e.g., "15 July 1892: Worked.")