Ferdinand Raimund 1 hr 43 min read

To win the diamond of the Spirit-King, a young man must find something rarer than any jewel, a maiden who has never told a lie.

Ferdinand Raimund's 1824 magical fairy-play ('The Diamond of the Spirit-King') is a beloved Viennese Zauberposse in which a fantastical quest tests human virtue. Whimsical, tuneful, warm-hearted stage fantasy. Read it for a classic of Austrian folk-theatre, where a supernatural task turns on the simplest of truths.

In its time

Published in 1824, during the 1820s, tales of mesmerism, ghosts, and the fantastic voyage flourish in the romantic imagination.

Reading it

1 hr 43 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).