'A New Order of Things': Social and Cultural Transition in the Epistolary and Journalistic Networks of Heinrich von Kleist

A year before Prussia’s defeat at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806, the German writer Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) expressed his sense of the emergence of a ‘new order of things’ catalysed by Napoleonic expansionism in Europe. Over the following years, Kleist would respond to these political and cultural changes by assembling a series of networks as the journalist and editor responsible for the artistic journal Phöbus (1808), the planned nationalist journal Germania (1809), and Berlin’s first daily newspaper, the Berliner Abendblätter (1810-11). He also maintained extensive correspondence with key cultural and political figures both in Germany and beyond. Our project is timely, as its focus on letters and correspondence will be enriched by significant new archival sources. In November 2024 it was revealed that a large cache of hitherto unknown material had been discovered in the family archive of Austrian chargé d’affaires in Dresden, Joseph von Buol-Berenberg, now located at the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum (TLMF) in Innsbruck. This newly discovered material includes five hitherto unknown letters from Kleist to Buol-Berenberg, which shed light on his activism supporting the Austrian-led fifth coalition against Napoleon, as well as correspondence between Friedrich Gentz and Kleist’s co-editor on Phöbus, Adam Müller. To understand fully the social and political implications of Kleist’s journalism and letter-writing, a new methodological approach—one less individual-centred and more oriented towards creative networks—is required. By positioning Kleist’s work within broader creative and intellectual networks, we will provide an analytical and interpretative model for the future study of ‘networked’ nineteenth-century cultures and move away from paradigms of creativity typically focused on the lone (male) genius. Our hypothesis is that by contextualising Kleist’s letters and journalism within his networks, we can refine scholarly understandings of authorship around 1800. Our project will map out Kleist’s epistolary and journalistic networks across five key areas: (1) Politics; (2) the Military; (3) Economics; (4) Means of Communication and Travel; and (5) Visual Arts. We will uncover in more detail how Kleist drew upon existing networks and created new ones of his own, by focusing on the interplay between public communication in his journals, private communication in his letters and semi-public fora such as salons. This approach will allow us to illuminate how Kleist’s networks broke down barriers between classes and different states in Europe, and to reevaluate the critical role of female and Jewish associates in Kleist’s work. Our research will result in a major (co-written) monograph entitled Vernetzte Kreativität. Heinrich von Kleist und das Napoleonische Europa and a journal article. We will refine our approach at an international conference ‘A New Order of Things: Heinrich von Kleist and Napoleonic Germany’, where we will invite scholars to contribute to examining Kleist’s networks across adjacent fields such as law, music, theatre, philosophy and science. This conference will give rise to an edited volume. As a British-German cooperation, our project will transform the international understanding of an author who has remained under-appreciated in the Anglophone world. We plan to capitalise on the global celebrations of the 250th anniversary of Kleist’s birth in 2027 by producing open access translations of selected journalism and correspondence by Kleist and his network across our five focal areas. Our research and translation will be showcased at a public-facing, hybrid event in Birmingham and in articles for a general readership.