A psychological cat and mouse hunt.... The brief, loveless affair between a bourgeois woman and a concert pianist leads to a vortex of terror, beset by danger, blackmail and fear...
"...Yet finally she was at her own front steps, stumbling towards them. As she pulled open the door, her husband was standing there, a knife in his hand, staring at her, his eyes boring into her. “Where have you been?†he asked dully, “Nowhere,†she heard herself reply. A harsh guffaw sounded at her side. “I saw it all! I saw it!†the grinning woman shrieked, giggling maniacally. Her husband raised the knife. “Help!†she shouted. “Help…!â€"
"Fear" is an enduringly popular novella by the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig. The story was adapted into a 1928 silent film "Angst" directed by Hans Steinhoff and a 1954 film "Fear" / "La Paura" directed by Roberto Rossellini.
This is a new translation by Nicholas Stephens, who has previously translated Stefan Zweig's "Chess Story," also available on the Kindle.