The conventions of the 19th century are receding into the past, and 1913 heralds a new age of unlimited possibility. Kafka falls in love; Louis Armstrong learns to play the trumpet; a young seamstress called Coco Chanel opens her first boutique. Told with Illies's characteristic mixture of evocation and irony, 1913 is the story of the year that shaped the last century. An international bestseller.