Gustav Meyrink (1868-1932), who hailed from Vienna, initially worked as a banker, then became a journalist and cabaret artist before settling in Munich in 1905 and later in Starnberg in 1911, where he worked as a freelance writer. Throughout his life, Meyrink was interested in occult teachings and secret societies. He wrote grotesque and fantastical novels and stories, whose blend of anti-bourgeois attitude, mysticism, and satire was extremely popular. Meyrink achieved his greatest success in 1915 with "The Golem." The novel "The Angel from the Western Window" was published in 1927 and is part of the author's later works. Meyrink also gained recognition as a translator, notably of works by Dickens and Kipling.