In the Shadow of the Magic Mountain: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story
by Andrea Weiss
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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 show more 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 work with a shared sense of political commitment. Their views earned them exile, and after escaping Germany they eventually moved to the United States, where both served as members of the U.S. armed forces. Abroad, they enjoyed a wide circle of famous friends, including Andre Gide, Christopher Isherwood, Jean Cocteau, and W. H. Auden, whom Erika married in 1935. But the demands of life in exile, Klaus's heroin addiction, and Erika's new allegiance to their father strained their mutual devotion, and in 1949 Klaus committed suicide. Beautiful never-before-seen photographs illustrate Weiss's riveting tale of two brave nonconformists whose dramatic lives open up new perspectives on the history of the twentieth century. show lessTags
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Even if you have no feelings at all about Thomas Mann, even if you’ve never read any of his work, you’ve got to admit that the lives of his two eldest children are worth reading about. Erika and Klaus Mann, born in 1905 and 1906, were the closest of siblings: they supported each other’s artistic work, shared each other’s lovers, and followed each other around the globe to write, lecture, perform and party with some of the greatest minds of their generation. I imagine there are people out there who don’t like reading about queer radical anti-fascist artists and their love lives, but they probably just haven’t found the right book to get them started yet. This is that book.
Die Erika und Klaus Mann-Story
Nov 27, 2014German
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7+ Works 614 Members
Andrea Weiss is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and nonfiction-author. Her most recent book, In the Shadow of the Magic Mountain: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story won the Publishing Triangle Award for nonfiction. She has been granted fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State show more Council on the Arts, and New York Foundation for the Arts, as well as an Emmy Award for her documentary Before Stonewall. She lives in New York City and teaches at The City College of New York. show less
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Erika Mann; Klaus Mann
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, LGBTQ+, Literature Studies and Criticism, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 838.91209 — Literature & rhetoric German & related literatures German miscellaneous writings 1900- 1900-1990 1900-1945 Individual authors not limited to one specific form : description; critical appraisal; biography; collected works
- LCC
- PT2625 .A42 .Z95 — Language and Literature German, Dutch and Scandinavian literatures German literature Individual authors or works 1860/70-1960
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 62
- Popularity
- 498,264
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.13)
- Languages
- English, German, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 1
