The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Mann

Specially-commissioned essays explore key dimensions of Thomas Mann's writing and life.

Key dimensions of Thomas Mann's writing and life are explored in this collection of specially commissioned essays. In addition to introductory chapters on all the main works of fiction, the essays and diaries, there are four chapters examining Mann's oeuvre in relation to major themes. These thematic explorations include his position as a realistic writer concerned with the history of his own times and as a commentator on German and American politics; his controversial reputation as an intellectual novelist; the literary techniques that enabled his challenging fictions to appeal to a wide audience; and the homosexual subtext running through his fiction and diaries. A final chapter looks at the pitfalls of translating Mann into English. The essays are well supported by supplementary material including a chronology of the period and detailed guides to further reading. Altogether the volume provides an invaluable resource for scholars and students.

Chronology; 1. Mann in history T. J. Reed; 2. Mann's intellectual world Paul Bishop; 3. Mann's literary techniques Michael Minden; 4. Mann's man's world: gender and sexuality Andrew Webber; 5. Thomas Mann's early novellas Mark M. Anderson; 6. Classicism and its pitfalls: Death in Venice Ritchie Robertson; 7. The personal becomes political: Disorder and Early Sorrow and Mario and the Magician Alan Bance; 8. Buddenbrooks: between realism and aestheticism Judith Ryan; 9. The Magic Mountain Michael Beddow; 10. Religion and culture: Joseph and his Brothers Wolf-Daniel Hartwich; 11. Doctor Faustus Susan Von Rohr Scaff; Lotte in Wiemar Yahya Elsaghe; 13. The Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man Frederick Lubich; 14. Mann as essayist Hinrich Siefken; 15. Mann as diarist T. J. Reed; 16. Mann in English Timothy Buck.

Key dimensions of Thomas Mann's writing and life are explored in this collection of specially commissioned essays. Introductory chapters covering all the main works of fiction, the essays and diaries, are followed by four chapters examining Mann's oeuvre in relation to major themes.

Ritchie Robertson is Professor of German at Oxford University and Fellow and Tutor of St John's College, Oxford. He is the author of Kafka: Judaism, Politics, and Literature (1985) and Heine (1988), which have also been published in German translation, and The 'Jewish Question' in German Literature, 1749–1939 (1999). He has also published numerous translations from German, including works by Heine and Hoffmann. He is an editor of The Modern Language Review.