Kafka (right) with his friend and savior of his manuscripts Max Brod (left). It was Brod who left many of Kafka’s’ manuscripts to his secretary / lover Esther Hoffe. I don’t know who owns the copyright of this picture, so don’t tell anyone I am using it here!
More Kafka expected to come to your local bookstore soon , as Esther Hoffe, the zealous guardian of his never-before-seen manuscripts, dies at age 101. The articles I have read (predictably) hints on the story as being “Kafkaesque”, though it reads more like a thriller to me (come on, don’t force that adjective just because he is involved).
The Guardian runs a good article on this.