This is a sequel to Der Fall Maurizius, in which Etzel is the son of the public prosecutor. In spite of the title, Etzel appears only in the second part of this later novel. Its principal figure is Joseph Kerkhoven. Engaged as physician to a wealthy man, Johann Irlen, who is suffering from an incurable disease, Kerkhoven undergoes a marked change of personality, which alienates him from his wife Marie. Years pass and Etzel Andergast, now a student, enters the couple's life and becomes Marie's lover. Kerkhoven, wishing to be reunited with his wife, discovers Etzel and turns him out. Etzel returns home to recover his mental equilibrium, and Kerkhoven's story is continued in Joseph Kerkhovens dritte Existenz.

"Alexander Herzog, a young writer, goes to Vienna to escape his debts and a failed love affair. There he is pursued by book-loving Ganna: giddy, girlish, clumsy, eccentric, and wild. Dazzled and unnerved by her devotion to him, and attracted to the large dowry offered by her wealthy father, he thinks he can mold Ganna into what he wants. But no one can control her troubling passions. As their marriage starts to self-destruct, Herzog will discover that he can never escape her. Posthumously published in 1934 and based on Wassermann's own ruinous marriage, My Marriage is a tragic masterpiece that unfolds in shocking detail. This story of rare intensity and drama is now brought to English readers in a powerful translation by Michael Hofmann."--