Accessible essays place Kafka in historical, political and cultural context, providing new and often unexpected perspectives on his works.

Part I. Life and Work: 1. Family Anthony Northey; 2. Friendship Claudia Nitschke; 3. Women Elizabeth Boa; 4. Work Benno Wagner; 5. Health and illness Johannes Türk; 6. Writing Manfred Engel; 7. Style Ritchie Robertson; Part II. Art and Literature: 8. Literary modernism Judith Ryan; 9. Kafka's reading Ritchie Robertson; 10. Gesture Lucia Ruprecht; 11. Performance and recitation Lothar Müller; 12. Film Silke Horstkotte; 13. Photography J. J. Long; 14. Music Thomas Martinec; 15. Architecture Roger Thiel; Part III. Politics, Culture, History: 16. Prague: history and culture Marek Nekula; 17. Czech language and literature Peter Zusi; 18. The First World War Mark Cornwall; 19. Travel, colonialism and exoticism Matthias Zach; 20. Law Theodore Ziolkowski; 21. Philosophy Ben Morgan; 22. Religion Daniel Weidner; 23. Judaism and Zionism Katja Garloff; 24. Psychology and psychoanalysis Carolin Duttlinger; 25. Gender and sexuality Mark M. Anderson; 26. The city Andrew J. Webber; 27. Childhood, pedagogy and education Katharina Laszlo; 28. Ethnography and anthropology Nicola Gess; Part IV. Reception and Influence: 29. Early critical reception Ruth V. Gross; 30. Critical theory Anthony Phelan; 31. Deconstruction Stanley Corngold; 32. Reading Kafka Emily Troscianko; 33. Editions Clayton Koelb; 34. Translation Mark Harman; 35. Film adaptations Dora Osborne.