Breakfast at Tiffany's (novel)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (original title Breakfast at Tiffany’s ) is a short novel published in 1958 by Truman Capote . The book is about the life of an eccentric party girl, nineteen-year-old Holly Golightly. It is told from the perspective of her neighbor and friend, who loves and admires her because of her contagious liveliness, who finally brings to light the truth about her carefully hidden origins and is the only one who really stands by her.
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Holly Golightly ( go lightly means "take it easy") is completely penniless, but bravely struggles through New York life on the Upper East Side with outrageous charm and surprising ingenuity , lets her admirers starve to death on the outstretched arm, but turns their bags over anyway and is available for any nonsense. Whenever the "red misery" (or: "red horror") overcomes her, she goes to the Tiffany jewelry store on Fifth Avenue , the only place in the world where she feels comfortable.
Holly had an unstable childhood and was married at fourteen. Now she plans to leave New York and marry a rich man in Brazil. When she receives a letter stating that her brother Fred was killed in the military, she destroys her apartment.
She is suspected of working for the Mafia boss Sally Tomato (whom she visited for payment every Thursday in New York's Sing Sing Prison ) and is therefore briefly arrested. Her planned marriage in Brazil is canceled because her fiancé holds an important political office and does not want a woman who attracts such public interest. Holly still wants to go to South America to start a new life there.
Publication history
The first German translation comes from Hansi Bochow-Blüthgen and appeared for the first time in 1959 together with three short stories by Capote in Limes Verlag . The paperback edition by Rowohlt Verlag developed into a bestseller , with several editions from 1962 to 1994 (with a total of 317,000 copies). In 2006 a new translation by Heidi Zerning was published by Kein & Aber .
- Breakfast at Tiffany's. A short novel . Limes, Wiesbaden 1959; Reprint 1996, ISBN 3-8090-2412-0
- Breakfast at Tiffany's. A short novel and three stories . Rowohlt, Reinbek 1962, ISBN 3-499-10459-8
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s . Reclam ( UB 9241), Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-15-009241-8 (English original text with vocabulary aids)
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Breakfast at Tiffany's . Novel. Kein & Aber, Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-0369-5159-8
- Special edition with fashion sketches by Hubert de Givenchy : Kein & Aber, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-0369-5528-5
- Paperback: Goldmann, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-442-46904-8
Adaptations
- In 1961, the story of Blake Edwards was filmed under the same title with Audrey Hepburn , George Peppard and Mickey Rooney in the leading roles, see Breakfast at Tiffany's (film) . In contrast to Capote's novel, however, the film version ends with a happy ending .
- In the late 1960s there was a Broadway - Musical "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with Mary Tyler Moore as Holly, which however did not succeed. After the production was canceled after only four previews, it is now considered one of the most legendary flops in theater history.
- In 2009 a play based on the novel was staged in London. Directed by Sean Mathias , Anna Friel played the leading role . The piece received mixed to negative reviews.
- In 2013, a new theatrical version starring Emilia Clarke was staged on Broadway . The adaptation was written by Richard Greenberg and directed by Sean Mathias .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Patrick Healy: 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' Headed to Broadway. In: The New York Times . October 10, 2012, accessed December 13, 2012 .
- ↑ Broadway's Breakfast at Tiffany’s Sets Closing Date playbill.com, April 15, 2013