Who was the woman Kafka loved? Christine Estima says we should know her story

Bookends with Mattea Roach Who was the woman Kafka loved?

Twelve years ago, Canadian writer Christine Estima was broke and living in England, when she came across a journalism fellowship named for Milena Jesenská.

Estima had never heard of her before, so she started digging — and learned that Jesenská was a courageous journalist, translator and resister of the Nazi regime.

In history, however, Jesenská is most often remembered as Franz Kafka's lover.

She translated his work from German to Czech, starting a passionate correspondence that eventually led to an affair.

And while Kafka's letters to Jesenská are immortalized in the book , her responses have never been found.

"I wanted her to not be known as Kafka's lover," said Estima on Bookends with Mattea Roach . "I wanted him