Karlsruhe 1848: The inventor and former revolutionary Carl von Sauerbronn returns from an expedition in Brazil - with a singing monkey. During the days of the Baden Revolution, the monkey Julius becomes a symbol of freedom, reason, and dissent. While Sauerbronn tries to train the animal, his daughter Susanne teaches it to speak - and to love. Soon, events spiral out of control: revolutionaries, court officials, and an impassioned audience become captivated by this unusual love triangle.

Joscha Schaback tells a story filled with wit, linguistic finesse, and a sense of the grotesque about the longing for freedom and equality, the intoxication of ideas, and the power of imagination - a literary delight in the spirit of E.T.A. Hoffmann and at the same time a clever commentary on our present.

Joscha Schaback studied German studies, theater and musicology, as well as directing. He writes and translates opera librettos and texts for children's concerts. As the author of a non-fiction book, he also publishes reviews, essays, and short stories in daily newspapers, specialized journals, and anthologies. His stories "Die Maschine" and "Über den Fluss," illustrated by Marek Walczak, were published by Brot&Kunst Verlag. "Der Affe von Karlsruhe" is his first novel.