4 h 12 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the army that makes you powerful also makes your ruler fear you?
In Friedrich Schiller’s five-act play The Death of Wallenstein, the Emperor’s strongest general stands between loyalty and rebellion. His soldiers trust him more than they trust the Emperor in Vienna. As the Thirty Years’ War continues, Wallenstein must decide whether to break with his ruler and seek a separate peace. Every delay gives doubt more room to grow.
Around him, private hopes sharpen a public crisis. Countess Terzky urges bold action, while the astrologer Seni reads the heavens for the right moment. Max Piccolomini admires Wallenstein and loves his daughter, Thekla. Yet following the general into revolt means betraying the Emperor and breaking with his own father, Octavio. Love, friendship and duty pull against one another.
What you’ll discover
- Power without security Meet a commander whose soldiers’ loyalty makes him a threat to his own ruler.
- Waiting on the stars Watch Wallenstein seek guidance in the heavens while pressure mounts around him.
- Love against duty Follow Max and Thekla as love faces the demands of divided loyalties.
- The pressure to act Hear arguments from people whose own fortunes depend on the general’s next move.
- Fate or free choice Explore how pride, hesitation and misplaced trust can narrow a powerful man’s choices.
Who will love it
For readers who love political drama, history with real moral stakes, and the plays of Shakespeare or the Greek tragedians, with loyalty, love and friendship caught between ambition and fate.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A general too strong to trust
- The stars say wait
- Two Piccolominis, one loyalty at stake
- Those around him push him to act
- Love and friendship against the cause
- Fate, freedom and the shape of the play
Who’s who
- WallensteinThe Emperor's most powerful general, who commands a huge army and must decide whether to break with Vienna and make a separate peace.
- Octavio PiccolominiAn old, careful officer and Wallenstein's trusted friend, who secretly carries the Emperor's orders against him.
- Max PiccolominiOctavio's son, a young and idealistic officer who admires Wallenstein and loves his daughter.
- TheklaWallenstein's daughter, clear-eyed and loyal, who loves Max and holds fast to what she believes is true.
- Countess TerzkyWallenstein's proud sister-in-law, who urges him to act boldly so that her family may rise.
- Count TerzkyWallenstein's brother-in-law, an officer whose fortunes are bound to his, and who wants him to break with the Emperor.
- IlloA hard and impatient officer who presses Wallenstein to act and works to bind the other commanders to him.
- WrangelThe Swedish envoy, a cool and watchful man who wants firm terms from Wallenstein before Sweden will commit.
Formats and delivery
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- Audiobook
- 4 h 12 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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La Mort de Wallenstein
by Friedrich Schiller · 1800
Wallenstein commands a huge army, but his choice between loyalty and rebellion puts friendship and power at stake.
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In short
The Death of Wallenstein is a play in five acts by the German poet and dramatist Friedrich Schiller. It was written in 1799 and is the last part of a trilogy about Albrecht von Wallenstein, the great general of the Holy Roman Emperor in the Thirty Years' War.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A general too strong to trust
The play opens in 1634, in the sixteenth year of the Thirty Years' War, a long struggle over religion and power across Europe. Wallenstein has raised and paid for an enormous army, and his soldiers are loyal to him more than to the Emperor. He has won great victories, and he has been dismissed once before when the court grew afraid of him. Now he is back in command, and the court is afraid again.
The army is gathered around the town of Pilsen in Bohemia. Wallenstein believes the war should end in a peace that holds the German lands together. Vienna wants something different, and it wants to keep him under its thumb. So he has begun secret talks with Sweden, the very enemy he is supposed to be fighting.
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What is The Death of Wallenstein about?
It is about the last days of the imperial general Wallenstein during the Thirty Years' War. He is torn between loyalty to the Emperor and a secret deal with Sweden, while allies and enemies close in around him.
Is The Death of Wallenstein a true story?
It is based on real history. Albrecht von Wallenstein was a real general in the Thirty Years' War, and the play follows his fall in 1634. Schiller invented some characters and scenes, such as Max and Thekla, for drama.
Do I need to read the other Wallenstein plays first?
It helps but is not required. The trilogy begins with Wallenstein's Camp and The Piccolomini. The Death of Wallenstein is the third play and is written to stand on its own, with the situation clear from the start.
The author
Friedrich Schiller
1759–1805 · German playwright and poet
Friedrich Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. He was born in Marbach in 1759 and died in Weimar in 1805. He also lived in Jena, where he taught history at the university. His plays include The Robbers, published in 1781, and William Tell, first performed in 1804.
More by Friedrich Schiller
All 7 booksMore like this
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