Product details
- ISBN 9780241785416
- Weight: 500g
- Dimensions: 129 x 198mm
- Publication Date: 19 Nov 2026
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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The definitive translation of 'Arguably the great German novel' (New York Times)
‘This man is mad. Of that there can no longer be any doubt, and it is pitiable that no one representing psychiatric science is part of our circle’
In May 1943 a middle-aged scholar retires to his study to reflect on the life and untimely death of his friend, a once-brilliant composer and the flower of German culture. He recalls how, consumed by over-reaching ambition, this friend made an unholy bargain in return for creative genius. How he enjoyed twenty-four years of unrivalled success and musical achievement – until, inevitably, he had to pay his dues. A reworking of the classic Faust legend, Doctor Faustus is one of the twentieth century’s finest novels: a powerful allegory of the rise of the Nazism, and a warning against the seductive attractions of nihilism.
Translated by John E. Woods
Thomas Mann (1875-1955) is widely regarded as the greatest German novelist of the twentieth century. His first novel, Buddenbrooks, was a huge success and led to a Nobel Prize in Literature. However, when the Nazis came to power, his works were blacklisted and burned and Mann was stripped of his citizenship. He spent the latter part of his life in exile in the United States and Switzerland. His other major novels include The Magic Mountain, Doctor Faustus and Joseph and His Brothers.
