The Trial

First published in 1925, this novel opens on Josef K.'s thirtieth birthday, when warders arrest him in his lodgings though no charge is stated. He keeps his bank post while seeking the court, which sits in attic rooms among tenements. An uncle, the advocate Huld, the painter Titorelli, and a priest in a cathedral each offer explanations that deepen the case rather than close it. Fraulein Burstner, Leni, and other women become entangled in his efforts. The action stays in an unnamed city of offices, stairs, and waiting rooms. It is a novel of opaque procedure, not a detective story with a revealed crime.

Bound in brown paper printed in cream and grey with pictorial design by Bragg. Dark blue endleaves. Black slipcase.