4 h 5 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 5 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
How much can a court know about the mind of a person accused of poisoning?
In The Vukobrankovics Case, Ernst Weiss turns to a criminal case in Vienna, bringing a physician's eye to questions of crime and judgment. The poisoning trials place evidence under scrutiny. But behind the question of proof lies another: how can a court judge someone whose inner life remains only partly known?
Vienna is more than a setting. Its courts, clinics and cafes belong to a city alive with ideas about the mind. Weiss approaches this world as both writer and doctor. His concern with illness, guilt and hidden motives gives the account its thoughtful pace, asking you to look beyond a simple verdict.
What you’ll discover
- A doctor's eye Consider a criminal case through the medical and psychological interests that shape Weiss's writing.
- Vienna beyond the courtroom Enter a city where courts and clinics share a setting with new ideas about the mind.
- The weight of evidence Explore the gap between the facts a court holds and the judgment it must reach.
- Motives beneath the surface Look toward fear, shame and need rather than rushing to excuse or condemn.
- Room for difficult questions Spend time with doubt in an account that invites reflection rather than a quick solution.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy true crime told through real courtroom exchanges will love this book, as will those curious about psychiatry and law or about Vienna after the First World War.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The first trial opens in October 1918
- A trusted guest becomes the chief suspect
- The verdict separates poisoning from slander
- Five years later, the same pattern returns
- The courtroom becomes a stage
- Experts disagree about mind and responsibility
- Her own prison book gives her away
- Poisoners share a pattern the law cannot handle
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El caso de Vukobrankovics
by Ernst Weiss · 1924
A brilliant young teacher stands trial for poison twice, and Vienna cannot look away.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEspañol
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In short
What does a poisoner look like? In Vienna in 1918, the answer was a twenty-four-year-old teacher, gifted and well spoken, who sat in the dock with a calm face and an answer for every question.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The first trial opens in October 1918
On October 28, 1918, Milica Vukobrankovics goes on trial before a Vienna jury.
She is accused of putting arsenic into the food of Rudolf Piffl, a state school inspector, and of making a phosphorus pill meant to kill his wife. When the inquiry pointed to her, she tried to turn suspicion toward the couple's adopted son, Albert, so she also faces a charge of defamation. More than forty witnesses are summoned. A psychiatric report calls her mentally sound.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1924
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 2 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Weiss, Ernst. The Vukobrankovics Case. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-vukobrankovics-case.
Weiss, E. (2026). The Vukobrankovics case. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-vukobrankovics-case (Original work published 1924)
Weiss, Ernst. The Vukobrankovics Case. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-vukobrankovics-case.
@book{weiss2026vukobrankovics,
author = {Weiss, Ernst},
title = {The Vukobrankovics Case},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-vukobrankovics-case},
note = {First published 1924}
}
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What is The Vukobrankovics Case about?
It tells of two Vienna poisoning trials of Milica Vukobrankovics, in 1918 and 1923. Ernst Weiss follows the testimony, the experts and the press, and adds his own theory of the poisoner's mind.
Who was Milica Vukobrankovics?
She was a gifted young Viennese teacher of Serbian descent, said to come from a noble family. She was tried for poisoning the family of a school inspector, and later for poisoning her employer's household.
Is The Vukobrankovics Case a true story?
Yes, it is a nonfiction account built on real trials held in Vienna in 1918 and 1923. Weiss draws on court exchanges, psychiatric reports, newspaper pieces and the defendant's own prison book.
The author
Ernst Weiss
1882–1940 · Czech novelist and physician
Ernst Weiss (1882–1940) was a physician and German-language writer born in Brno, then in Austria-Hungary. He wrote novels and short stories. His first novel, Die Galeere, appeared in 1913. He lived in Prague, Berlin and Paris. He died in Paris in 1940.
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