In 1943, during Hermynia zur Mühlen's exile in England, a commentator predicted that her works would become standards in postfascist Austria, and in 1948 another commentator wrote that she was the best-known progressive woman author writing in the German language; but despite the postwar republication of her works, the Austrian-born writer's name was soon forgotten. A major factor influencing zur Mühlen's reception was the situation in the cultural and scholarly arena after World War II. In Austria the newly awakened search for a national identity, influenced by conservative cultural politicians who came to control the literary scene after 1950, drew its impetus from the monarchy and largely ignored the interwar period. In addition, scholars and critics of German-language literature turned away from works designed to illuminate a specific historical era, favoring instead those considered more universal.

Zur Mühlen's reception was affected by these trends. A...