The Duel (Kleist novella)

The Duel (German: Der Zweikampf) is an 1811 novella by the German writer Heinrich von Kleist. Set in the late 14th century, it follows the murder investigation after a duke is assassinated amid a conflict over the succession to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.

It was first printed in the second part of Kleist's story collection Erzählungen, published by the Realschulbuchhandlung [de] in Berlin. It was for a long time regarded as one of Kleist's lesser works, for example by Ludwig Tieck. It received more attention in the 20th century, when it was analyzed as a precursor to later whodunit stories and a work where uncertainty plays a major role.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}