German playwright Frank Wedekind has profoundly influenced modern drama, and became an inspiration to Brecht and Reinhardt among others.

In this extraordinary play, Franziska, a ‘female Faust’, is consumed by a deep thirst for self-knowledge. She makes a pact a Mephistophelean impresario who grants her two years of pleasure and brilliant success in her operatic career as long as she becomes his wife and vassal. But, in an unusual twist, Franziska is not destined for eternal damnation.

This is the first version of Franziska to be published in the English language and has been adapted by award-winning poet Eleanor Brown.