Die häßliche Herzogin (The Ugly Duchess), published in 1923, is a historical novel by Lion Feuchtwanger based on the real figure of Margarete Maultasch, the fourteenth-century Countess of Tyrol, whose unconventional appearance made her the target of ridicule and political manipulation throughout her life. Written in German, Feuchtwanger uses her story to examine power, vanity, and the cruelty of social judgment with characteristic psychological depth.
Feuchtwanger was one of Germany’s most successful novelists before his exile during the Nazi period, and this novel demonstrates his gift for bringing historical figures vividly to life. Download this free public-domain EPUB to read a compelling feminist-inflected historical narrative.