The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation: Toll gates and customs officials at every corner. The horse dealer Michael Kohlhaas knows the procedure and confidently turns to the law when a young landowner demands exorbitant tolls and abuses his position of power. However, everything turns out quite differently. To this day, Kleist's breathlessly told story of Kohlhaas's campaign against authority invites ongoing debate: some admire Kohlhaas as the unyielding rebel, while for others he is primarily a rampaging killer and terrorist. With a contribution from Kindler's Literary Lexicon. Includes data on life and work, exclusively written by the editorial team of the literary journal TEXT + KRITIK.