War and Peace in the Worlds of Rudolf H. Sauter - by Jeffrey S Reznick (Paperback)

About the Book

War and Peace in the Worlds of Rudolf H. Sauter is the first book to examine the creative life and worlds of Rudolf H. Sauter (1895-1977), the German-born artist, poet, cultural observer and nephew of the famed novelist John Galsworthy. It reveals him as a creative figure in his own right who produced an intriguing body of artistic and literary work.

Book Synopsis

War and Peace in the Worlds of Rudolf H. Sauter is a unique project which complements current trends in scholarship and the insatiable public appetite for books about the experience and impact of war. It is the first book to examine the creative life and worlds of Rudolf H. Sauter (1895-1977), the German-born artist, poet, cultural observer and nephew of the famed novelist John Galsworthy. Revealing him to be a creative figure in his own right, it examines his early life as a German immigrant in Britain, his formative years during the run-up to the Great War, his wartime internment as an "enemy alien," and the postwar development of his intriguing body of artistic and literary work. Placing Sauter and his creative life in the historical contexts they have long deserved, this cultural biography opens a window onto subjects of war, love, memory, travel and existential concerns of modern times.

Review Quotes

"Jeffrey S. Reznick's War and Peace in the Worlds of Rudolf H. Sauter: A Cultural History of a Creative Life picks up the Edwardian world of culture and elegance as brilliantly outlined in Reznick's earlier study of John Galsworthy and the wounded of the Great War. Rudolf H. Sauter, a German painter and poet, was part of that fluid world of Victorian and Wilhelminian Europe that easily and confidently crossed national and cultural borders until 1914. Married to Galsworthy's sister, friend of Whistler and Conrad (two other foreigners stranded in Great Britain) he was arrested and then exiled back to Germany because of his nationality during World War One. The 'war wounded' that Reznick described in his earlier book did not include those displaced and exiled. In this brilliant and detailed account of Sauter's life and work, he opens a new yet pressing question: what happens in times of radical displacement, such as ours, to the creative individuals whose lives are mangled and confused by a politics beyond their control. An important book to begin our understanding of cultural displacement in the 20th and 21st centuries." --Sander L. Gilman, Distinguished professor of the liberal arts and sciences and professor of psychiatry (emeritus), Emory University, US.

"Rudolf Sauter, artist, poet and writer, and nephew of the famous novelist John Galsworthy, is an excellent subject for a biography. Jeffrey Reznick recounts the story of his life with verve, successfully bringing together insights drawn from literary studies, art history and the history of twentieth-century warfare. A fascinating read." --Matthew Stibbe, Professor of modern european history, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.

This copiously illustrated biography shows the range of Sauter's art: delicate, impressionistic sketches of human figures; exquisitely detailed drawings and pen and ink wash depictions of cramped internment quarters with listless internees, others diverting themselves with games and crafts at sites in London and Surrey; illustrations for Galsworthy's and John Masefield's books; pastels of New York City; gallery diagrams; oil on board triptychs; and watercolors of war. --Carl Rollyson, author of The Life of William Faulkner and The Last Days of Sylvia Plath, The Sun Magazine. For Full review, please see Cramped by Internment in England, Saved by Art: A welcome and overdue biography of an artist coping with the vicissitudes of war

"Jeffrey S. Reznick's War and Peace in the Worlds of Rudolf H. Sauter: A Cultural History of a Creative Life picks up the Edwardian world of culture and elegance as brilliantly outlined in Reznick's earlier study of John Galsworthy and the wounded of the Great War. Rudolf H. Sauter, a German painter and poet, was part of that fluid world of Victorian and Wilhelminian Europe that easily and confidently crossed national and cultural borders until 1914. Married to Galsworthy's sister, friend of Whistler and Conrad (two other foreigners stranded in Great Britain) he was arrested and then exiled back to Germany because of his nationality during World War One. The 'war wounded' that Reznick described in his earlier book did not include those displaced and exiled. In this brilliant and detailed account of Sauter's life and work, he opens a new yet pressing question: what happens in times of radical displacement, such as ours, to the creative individuals whose lives are mangled and confused by a politics beyond their control. An important book to begin our understanding of cultural displacement in the 20th and 21st centuries." -Sander L. Gilman, Distinguished professor of the liberal arts and sciences and professor of psychiatry (emeritus), Emory University, US.

"Rudolf Sauter, artist, poet and writer, and nephew of the famous novelist John Galsworthy, is an excellent subject for a biography. Jeffrey Reznick recounts the story of his life with verve, successfully bringing together insights drawn from literary studies, art history and the history of twentieth-century warfare. A fascinating read." -Matthew Stibbe, Professor of modern european history, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.

This copiously illustrated biography shows the range of Sauter's art: delicate, impressionistic sketches of human figures; exquisitely detailed drawings and pen and ink wash depictions of cramped internment quarters with listless internees, others diverting themselves with games and crafts at sites in London and Surrey; illustrations for Galsworthy's and John Masefield's books; pastels of New York City; gallery diagrams; oil on board triptychs; and watercolors of war. -Carl Rollyson, author of The Life of William Faulkner and The Last Days of Sylvia Plath, The Sun Magazine. For Full review, please see Cramped by Internment in England, Saved by Art: A welcome and overdue biography of an artist coping with the vicissitudes of war

About the Author

Jeffrey S. Reznick is Chief of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.