Writing Robert Musil's Biography
Attempts to Share the Process
It occured to me that I could use this platform to share my process of researching and writing the first English-language biography of Robert Musil with interested readers. At present I am almost done with a very rough draft of the whole bulk of the book, by which I mean that about 2/3rds of it is actually written in rough draft form and the other 1/3rd is really just a compilation of notes, quotations, questions, and ideas in chronological order. My plan is now to go back over the whole from the beginning and smooth, add, cut, correct, and weave themes and ideas more thoroughly throughout, in order to deliver a full draft on January 1, 2026, into the hands of Jennifer Banks at Yale University Press.
It seems a good moment to engage you all more deeply in the process by sharing relevant material already written or published, notes and questions about thorny areas, particularly moving or curious anecdotes, and requests for your input on areas of specialization that are not my particular forte.
I have already received incredible help from many people (largely through X), in the form of book and article recommendations, invaluable discourse on complex questions, and just general well-wishing or curiosity, for which I am very grateful. I hope to start more discussions here and to share articles, videos, and other materials and to keep people up to date on what is happening in my Musil world.
Perhaps some people will even feel able and willing to become paid subscribers to help support the project. Unfortunately, I am often in need of books from Germany or Austria that I cannot afford and the work itself is so all-consuming that I am unable to make much money doing much else. I intend to post regularly here, to hopefully make it worth people’s time (if not money) and perhaps at some point, to host a guided reading of The Man without Qualities if people are interested.