Der Golem, by Gustav Meyrink (Illustrated by Hugo Steiner-Prag)

"O homen era tétrico, tal como o era o Meyrink na Austria e o Poe na inglaterra, na literatura do sec XIX. É fascinante a Europa central dos sec. XIX e XX."

Gustav Meyrink (January 19, 1868 -- December 4, 1932) was the pseudonym of Gustav Meyer, an Austrian author, storyteller, dramatist, translator, and banker, most famous for his novel The Golem.
During 1915 the first and most famous of Meyrink's novels, The Golem, was published, though its drafts may be traced back to 1908. The novel is rooted in Jewish legend about a Rabbi who made a living being called a golem (גולם) out of clay and animated it with a Kabbalistic spell, although these legends have little to do with the plotline. The main character is Athanasius Pernath, a contemporary lapidary from Prague. It is left to the reader to decide whether Pernath is simply writing down his hallucinations or gradually turning into a real golem. The novel was a great success and many copies were published. During 1916 one more compilation of short stories, Bats, and soon a second novel, The Green Face, was published. The next year his third novel, Walpurgis Night, was written.
By 1920 Meyrink's financial affairs improved so that he bought a villa in Starnberg. The villa became known as "The House at the Last Lantern" after the name of the house from The Golem. There he and his family lived for the next eight years and two more works — The White Dominican and Meyrink's longest novel The Angel of the West Window — were written.
The name "Fortunat" did not bring much luck to Meyrink's son: during the winter of 1932, while skiing, he injured his backbone terribly. That meant that for the rest of his life he would be confined to his armchair. On July 12, at the age of 24 he committed suicide — at the same age as his father was going to do it. Meyrink survived his son by half a year. He died on December 4, 1932 in Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. He is buried in Starnberg Cemetery.

Music by Béla Bartók, 'String Quartet n.6 -- 1° Mov.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKh6l9IhWyo&feature=player_embedded