In January and February 1870, Nietzsche delivered two lectures about ancient Greek drama. After receiving copies of the lectures, his friends Richard and Cosima Wagner suggested that he write a book about the subject.[1] In April 1871, he submitted a manuscript to publisher Wilhelm Engelmann. When Englemann was unresponsive, Nietzsche asked for the return of the manuscript in June. He had a portion of the book privately printed under the title Socrates and Greek Tragedy (German: Sokrates und griechische Tragödie) and sent to friends. Richard Wagner received the first copy on 18 June.[2]
In October 1871, Nietzsche submitted a revised manuscript to E. W. Fritzsch, who had published works by Wagner. Fritzsch accepted the book in November.[3] Printing was completed at the end of December, and the book, now titled The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Music (German: Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik), reached bookstores on 2 January 1872.[4] A second edition was printed by Fritzsch in 1874, but due to the publisher's financial problems, it was not bound until 1875 and had little circulation. In 1878, the remaining copies and publication rights for the first two editions were acquired by Nietzsche's new publisher, Ernst Schmeitzner.[5]
By 1886, Nietzsche had fallen out with Schmeitzner, and Fritzsch had recovered from his financial difficulties. Fritzsch published a new edition in October 1886, retitled The Birth of Tragedy, Or: Hellenism and Pessimism (German: Die Geburt der Tragödie, Oder: Griechentum und Pessimismus), with an added prefatory essay by Nietzsche called "An Attempt at Self-Criticism", commenting on the earlier editions.[6]
