The life of Courage : the notorious thief, whore, and vagabond

The quest for the Wandering Jew in a fin-de-siecle Amsterdam.'Of the volumes available to the English public, The Green Face, first published in 1916, is the most enjoyable. In an Amsterdam that very much resembles the Prague of The Golem, a stranger, Hauberisser, enters by chance a magician's shop. The name on the shop, he believes, is Chidher Green; inside, among several strange customers, he hears an old man, who says his name is Green, explain that, like the Wandering Jew, he has been on earth'ever since the moon has been circling the heaven.'When Hauberisser catches sight of the old man's face, it makes him sick with horror. The face haunts him. The rest of the novel chronicles Hauberisser's quest for the elusive and horrible old man.'Alberto Manguel in The Observer "The Life of Courage (first published in 1670), one episode from whose life Brecht used as the basis for his Mother Courage, is the female counterpart to Simplicissimus. A young girl caught up in the turmoil of the Thirty Years War, she survives, even prospers, by the use of her native cunning and sexual attraction. Completely amoral, she flits from man to man, having a succession of husbands and lovers, and ends her life with a band of gypsies." "Courage supposedly tells her story to get her own back on Simplicissimus, who treats her rather dismissively in his memoirs. Her method is to reveal the truth about herself, including the fact that she was recovering from the pox at the time of their affair, so that he will be tarred with the same brush. The result is a lively account of lechery, knavery and trickery told with disarming frankness and a complete lack of remorse."--BOOK JACKET. The elegantly-dressed foreigner standing somewhat undecided on the pavement in the Jodenbreetstraat gazed at the strange inscription in remarkably ornate white letters on the black sign outside a shop diagonally opposite: Out of curiosity, or merely in order to get away from the jostling of the crowd, who were commenting with typical Dutch frankness on his frock coat, his gleaming top hat and his gloves, all things which seemed to have rarity value in this quarter of Amsterdam, he crossed the road between two greengrocer's carts drawn by dogs. A companion volume to Simplicissimus: the story of younggirl named Courage, caught up in the turmoil of the Thirty Years'War, who survives, even prospers, by the use of her native cunning and sexual attraction. Completely amoral, she flits through a succession of husbands and lovers and ends her life with a band of Gypsies. Theconceit here is that Courage supposedly tells her story to get back at Simplicissimus, who treats her dismissively in his own memoirs. Thisis a remorseless tale of lechery, knavery and trickery. A complex and ambitious novel which centres on the life of the Elizabethan magus John Dee, in England, Poland and Prague, as it intertwines past and present, dreams and visions, myth and reality in a world of the occult, culminating in the transmutation of physical reality into a higher spiritual existence." "John Dee, through his 20th century descendent, is led by the Green Angel to the "Other Side of The Mirror. - Book Jacket A Young Girl Caught Up In The Turmoil Of The Thirty Years War, She Survives, Even Prospers, By The Use Of Her Native Cunning And Sexual Attraction. Completely Amoral, She Flits From Man To Man, Having A Succession Of Husbands And Lovers, And Ends Her Life With A Band Of Gypsies.--back Cover. Johann Jakob Christoffel Von Grimmelshausen ; Translated, With An Introduction And Chronology By Mike Mitchell. A stranger enters a magician's shop. Inside, among several strange customers, he sees an old man, who makes him sick with horror. The rest of the novel chronicles his quest for the elusive and horrible old man. A strange feeling: this packet I am holding in my hand was all neatly tied up and sealed by a dead man!