Rare
Books
The
alexander
Library
of
Continental
and
American
Literature
Bookplate
of the Alexander Library
onated
to Rare Books in 1991, the Theodor and Beatrice Alexander Library of Continental
and American Literature was created by the Alexanders, both of whom had long and
close ties to Texas Tech University.
Born in Vienna in 1919, Theodor Alexander fled his native Austria shortly
after it was annexed by Nazi Germany during the 1938
Anschluss.
He met his wife, the former Beatrice Witte of Fredericksburg, Texas,
while a student at Texas Tech in the mid 1940's.
Both of them would remain at Texas Tech until their retirements in the
1980's, with Theodor teaching German and Beatrice teaching French.
Of the more than 250 books in the collection, 215 are written by or about the
Austrian writer,
Arthur Schnitzler
(1862-1931). Arthur Schnitzler's
work is closely identified with Vienna's bourgeois society at the turn of the 19th
century. Known primarily for his
plays, Schnitzler was also an accomplished writer of fiction.
Much of his work explores various aspects of sexual relations as well as
marriage, feminism, and anti-Semitism.
A friend of Sigmund Freud, Schnitzler was interested in human psychology.
His writings show a deep concern for the individual as well as his personal fear
of old age and death. Although largely
neglected after his death in 1931, and banned by the Nazis, the renewed interest
in Schnitzler that began in 1962 with the hundredth anniversary of birth
continues to flourish.
For
additional information, please contact:
Rob E. King
rob.e.king@ttu.edu
(806) 834-0397