Friedrich Christian Delius began his literary career writing socially critical poetry and was a member of Group 47. He later began to write novels and has recently been awarded both the Joseph Breitbach and Georg Buchner prizes. Big in Germany.

"curious words of encouragement and irritating compliments which were already there before she took her first step outside, as she combed and plaited her hair, and put it up in a bun in front of the small bathroom mirror, then with a sceptical expression put on her only hat, a black one with a broad brim, and stroked both hands over her large bulging belly, and could not find anything about herself that was beautiful besides this belly, because when he called her beautiful lady it made her blush each time, in spite of his friendliness and assistance, the doctor had no right to call her that, only he did, her husband, whose return from the African front she had been waiting for week in, week out,"

- Portait of the Mother as a Young Woman