Franz Kafka’s famous novel “The Trial” first published 85 years ago

Sunday marks the 85th anniversary of the publishing of Franz Kafka’s internationally acclaimed novel “The Trial”. The first edition was published by the Berlin publishing house Die Schmiede, a year after the author’s death. Kafka never finished the novel, but the fragment was preserved by fellow writer Max Brod. Franz Kafka, who was born in Prague in 1883, started writing “The Trial” at the beginning of World War I. The novel follows protagonist Josef K., who is not aware of having committed a crime yet finds himself the subject of a court trial. He unsuccessfully attempts to find out what he is charged with, and is eventually sentenced to death.