Klaus mann s autobiography of miss

  • Near fine gilt blue hardcover in near fine dust jacket.
  • Item was shipped quickly, well packaged in a box with crushed paper filling all sides.
  • Klaus Mann, writer of Mephisto and the oldest son of Nobel Prize winner Thomas Mann, describes the life of intellectuals in Europe before the Nazi seizure.

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    Published in:July-August issue.

     

    Cursed Legacy: The Tragic Life of Klaus Mann
    by Frederic Spotts
    Yale U. Press. pages, $

     

     

    KLAUS MANN was born in Munich in Like all of his five siblings, he was a precocious child who would grow into an even more talented adult, which is not to say that his talents would be widely acknowledged during his lifetime. Coming from a family whose head was the world-renowned author Thomas Mann should have given him a leg up, but it did not. In fact, Thomas went out of his way to stifle Klaus’ talents in the most denigrating, hurtful ways possible. It was as though Thomas saw in Klaus not a son who had inherited his own creativity but a rival who might overtake him as a writer one day.

    The Mann household was not a loving place where the children’s talents were encouraged and nurtured. Quite the contrary, it was a locus terribilis where the children were lucky if they were completely ignored, as was the case with Klaus’ brother Michael. If they were unlucky, as was Klaus, they would constantly bear the brunt of Thomas’ mockery and ridicule. Except for Erika, who was Thomas’ favorite, none of the Mann children escaped his overbearing personality and wrath. In Klaus’ case, the abuse went beyond verbal belittling. Not only did T

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    In the Shadow of the Magic Mountain

    A biography of Thomas Mann's two eldest children that provides intriguing insight into both their lives and the political and cultural shifts at the same time.

    Thomas Mann’s two eldest children, Erika and Klaus, were unconventional, rebellious, and fiercely devoted to&#;each other. Empowered by their close bond, they espoused vehemently anti-Nazi views in a Europe swept up in fascism and were openly, even defiantly, gay in an age of secrecy and repression. Although their father’s fame has unfairly overshadowed their legacy, Erika and Klaus were serious authors, performance artists before the medium existed, and political visionaries whose searing essays and lectures are still relevant today. And, as Andrea Weiss reveals in this dual biography, their story offers a fascinating view of the literary and intellectual life, political turmoil, and shifting sexual mores of their times.

    In the Shadow of the Magic Mountain begins with an account of the make-believe world the Manns created together as children—an early sign of their talents as well as the intensity of their relationship. Weiss documents the lifelong artistic collaboration that followed, showing how, as the Nazis took power, Erika and Klaus infused their w

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