This is the first book to provide a complete German literary history up to the Unification of Germany in 1990. It is a history for our times: well-known authors and movements are set in a wider literary, cultural and political context, standard judgments are reexamined where appropriate, and a new prominence is given to writing by women. The book is designed for the general reader as well as the advanced student; titles and quotations are translated, and there is an extensive bibliography.