Locations of events.

Literature can do many things. It can also create realities that did not previously exist. The Russian 'people,' for instance, is an invention of the 19th century, to which Turgenev contributed substantially. Intellectuals first had to move to the countryside to learn that even the Russian people is composed of individuals.

Slowing down, work-life balance, the meaning of life and more: when Michael Ende published his novel 'Momo' in 1973, these were not yet widespread buzzwords but an urgently needed critique of the ideals of German performance-oriented society.

Of course the Reformation was about faith. But it was also about a great deal of money and new economic fields. This article shows a winner of the Zurich change of faith from a quite different perspective. Christoph Froschauer managed the rise from humble printer's apprentice to wealthy publisher. That in doing so he financed the work of Conrad Gessner was above all a question of economic viability.

Charles Dickens still ranks among the most beloved authors of the English-speaking world. This is due to his wonderful characters. They give the reader the illusion of standing on the right, the good side through identification with the loveable poor. Charles Dickens is feel-good literature of the finest kind, especially at Christmas time.

The Manesse volume Anton Chekhov - Master Stories cost 7.70 Swiss francs in the post-war year of 1947. That was a lot of money at the time, and raises the question: what was good literature worth then, and what is it worth to us today?