This concise yet thorough critical biography throws new light on the work of German novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and social critic Thomas Mann. It also offers a fresh look at the value of his short stories. Looking closely at how Mann’s brother Heinrich as well as the work of philosophers (notably Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Goethe) influenced Mann’s writing, Herbert Lehnert and Eva Wessell reveal how Mann’s fictional worlds criticized the prevailing bourgeois order, and how his first novel, __Buddenbrooks,__ signaled the need for change. Lehnert and Wessell also explore the lasting significance of such groundbreaking works as __The Magic Mountain,____Death in Venice,__ and __Doctor Faustus__, a novel that, in view of fascism, asks whether the bourgeois culture of the individual has not become diseased. __Thomas Mann__ also investigates Mann’s political views, from his anti-Nazi speeches to his anti-McCarthyist activities. The book offers an engaging, fresh account of an essential German writer, one which illustrates how the context of Mann’s life shaped his achievements. This concise yet thorough critical biography throws new light on the work of German novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and social critic Thomas Mann. It also offers a fresh look at the value of his short stories. Looking closely at how Mann’s brother Heinrich as well as the work of philosophers (notably Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Goethe) influenced Mann’s writing, Herbert Lehnert and Eva Wessell reveal how Mann’s fictional worlds criticized the prevailing bourgeois order, and how his first novel, Buddenbrooks, signaled the need for change. Lehnert and Wessell also explore the lasting significance of such groundbreaking works as The Magic Mountain, Death in Venice, and Doctor Faustus , a novel that, in view of fascism, asks whether the bourgeois culture of the individual has not become diseased. Thomas Mann also investigates Mann’s political views, from his anti-Nazi speeches to his anti-McCarthyist activities. The book offers an engaging, fresh account of an essential German writer, one which illustrates how the context of Mann’s life shaped his achievements. Cover 1 Title Page 4 Imprint Page 5 Contents 6 Texts and Abbreviations 8 Introduction 12 1: Thomas Mann, the Outsider Writer, in the Shadow of his Brother 16 2: From Buddenbrooks, a Novel of Liberation, to Fiorenza, a Play of Power 33 3: Two Loves and their Literary Outcomes 49 4: ‘Death in Venice’, the First World War and The Magic Mountain 64 5: The Weimar Republic and Two Joseph Novels 78 6: Joseph and his Author in Exile, Lotte in Weimar 98 7: In America: The Second World War and Joseph the Provider 112 8: Doctor Faustus and Discord with Germany 127 9: A Second Emigration: Tales of Forgiveness and Joy Emerge 142 Afterword: Modern Perspectives 160 References 164 Select Bibliography 170 Acknowledgements 175 Photo Acknowledgements 176
