Recent years have seen the publication of two illuminating Kafka biographies. Both Peter-André Alt and Reiner Stach defy the cliché of Kafka as an unrecognized genius whose works bore little connection to his age. Although Kafka’s life was externally uneventful, it was shaped, at decisive points, by the political events of his time, which left traces in his writings, and he was a close observer of cultural developments and debates. What is more, Kafka was far from isolated. In Prague he was part of a tight-knit group of writers and intellectuals, and he was also well travelled. While only a fraction of his work was published during his lifetime, and he was certainly no bestselling author, Kafka was held in high esteem by leading writers and publishers of his day.

1883–1912: childhood, youth and first employment

Franz Kafka was born in Prague on 3 July 1883 as the oldest child of Hermann Kafka (1852–1931) and his wife, Julie, née Löwy (1856–1934). Hermann was the son of a Jewish butcher; one of six children, he grew up in great poverty in a small south Bohemian village. Julie’s parents, in contrast, were well-off, and counted doctors, merchants and Talmudic scholars among their ancestors. Kafka’s parents were very different in terms of their social background and character, but both were hardworking and ambitious. They had moved to Prague in the 1870s, and their economic success enabled them to have a comfortable lifestyle. Like many Jews of their generation, they were assimilated into mainstream society, adopting its liberal bourgeois values, which in turn distanced them from their religious roots and traditions.