Austria and the Austrians

A nation's psyche explored by an Austrian-British aristocrat with unparalleled access to its inner life. Stella Musulin's book, featuring a foreword by W.H. Auden, offers rare insight into post-war Austria as it struggled to reckon with its Nazi past and redefine its identity. Musulin, born into Vienna's upper classes and married to a British intelligence officer, moved between worlds with facility, understanding Austria from both inside and outside. Her book examines Austrian character, history, and culture with the intimate knowledge of a native and the critical distance of an exile. Auden's foreword adds considerable weight - the great poet spent his final years in Austria and shared Musulin's fascination with national psychology.

Published when Austria had settled into comfortable neutrality but before it fully confronted its Holocaust complicity, the book captures a particular historical moment. For collectors of Austrian history or admirers of Auden, this collaboration between poet and analyst offers uncommon depth on a country perpetually caught between German and cosmopolitan identities.