The Man Who Sees Ghosts

Friedrich von Schiller’s only novel, The Ghost-seer is an experimental, deliberately fragmentary work. Thrillingly held together by its dramatic plot and lavish, operatic setting, it is a multi-layered fiction of deceptive simplicity. For a rich young prince and his loyal companion, Venice promises nothing but unfettered pleasure—until they encounter a mysterious masked Armenian who delivers them a strange prophecy. And when his words prove true, this enigmatic figure develops a deeply sinister influence over them, drawing them into darker forms of “magic.” As the narrative progresses, it become increasingly unclear whether the apparitions the prince sees are the manifestations of a troubled spirit world or simply an elaborate hoax. Friedrich von Schiller is one of the leading figures of 18th-century German literature, most famous for his dramatic works The Robbers, Mary Stuart, and William Tell.