The Novelle has been an especially important genre in German literature for the past two centuries. In recent years our small group of enthusiasts has studied works by Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka and Stefan Zweig amongst others. This year I intend to go back into the 19th century but also to advance into the post-war period, which is where we find the first story we are going to read: Martin Walser's Ein fliehendes Pferd from 1978. While discussion of the stories will be in English, the texts will of course be read in German. An important, and I hope enjoyable, element of this course is reading part or all of the text aloud in class. So, new members of the group, who will be made very welcome, should note that a degree of reading fluency in German will be necessary.