Ferdinand Raimund 1 hr 45 min read

The god Apollo sends poetic Imagination itself, in chains, to a queen's island where sorcerer-sisters rule, a magical allegory of the fettered creative spirit.

Ferdinand Raimund's 1828 fairy-play ('Imagination in Chains') is a beloved Viennese Zauberposse in which mythic and magical figures wage a contest over poetry and enchantment. Whimsical, tuneful, allegorical stage fantasy. Read it for a classic of Austrian folk-theatre that dramatizes the very power of imagination.

In its time

Published in 1828, during the 1820s, tales of mesmerism, ghosts, and the fantastic voyage flourish in the romantic imagination.

Reading it

1 hr 45 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).