Fifteen Rabbits
 First English-language edition from 1930. | |
| Author | Felix Salten |
|---|---|
| Original title | Fünfzehn Hasen: Schicksale in Wald und Feld |
| Translator | Whittaker Chambers |
| Language | German |
| Genre | novel |
| Published | 1929 |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Published in English | 1930 |
| Pages | 211 |
| LC Class | PZ3.S1733 Fi |
Fifteen Rabbits (Template:Lang-de) is a 1929 survival and adventure novel by the Austrian writer Felix Salten. The novel depicts a year in the life of a colony of rabbits in the same forest that Bambi dwells.
As the title indicates, there are fifteen rabbits who feature in the story, but not all of them survive to the end. Although Fifteen Rabbits is a story of a collective, the young Hops is the main character, with his beloved Plana.[1]
Publication history
Fifteen Rabbits was first published in German language, serialized in Neue Freie Presse newspaper from August 20 till October 10, 1929, and later that year by the Zsolnay company in Vienna as a book.[2] In 1930, the novel was published in the United States in an English translation by Whittaker Chambers, and republished in 1942 with illustrations by Kurt Wiese, and in 1976 illustrated by John Freas. In the United Kingdom, Chambers’ translation was published with illustrations by Sheila Dunn in 1943.
After Salten was forced to exile to Switzerland, his new publisher put out new editions of his work with novel illustrations, and in 1938, Fünfzehn Hasen was published with drawings by Hans Bertle. These illustrations have since then been used in translations, too, including the Dutch, French, and Swedish one. In total, the novel has been translated at least into eleven languages, and other illustrations have been created as well.[3]
Interpretation
As the other forest novels by Salten, also Fifteen Rabbits can be interpreted as an allegorical depiction of the diaspora of the Jewish people. This was noted, among others, by Salten's archenemy Karl Kraus who mocked the "rabbits with the Jewish manner of speaking" (German: jüdelnde Hasen).[2] The humans (called "He" by the animals) treat the animals in the forest like God in the Old Testament: both protecting and punishing.[4]
See also
Sources
- ^ Ehness, Jürgen (2002). Felix Saltens erzählerisches Werk: Beschreibung und Deutung (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. p. 245. ISBN 3-631-38178-6.
- ^ a b Eddy, Beverley Driver (2010). Felix Salten: Man of Many Faces. Riverside (Ca.): Ariadne Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-57241-169-2.
- ^ Felix Salten: A Preliminary Bibliography of His Works in Translation.
- ^ Ehness (2002), pp. 254–255.
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