Selected Short Works by Klaus Mann

Selected Short Works by Klaus Mann makes available for the first time a number of pieces by the author of Mephisto and The Turning Point. Klaus Mann (1906–1949) was an early opponent of Nazism, an émigré to the United States who enlisted in the U.S. Army to fight the German fascists, and the eldest son of Nobel laureate Thomas Mann. The works in this collection include brand new translations of a novella about the final days of Ludwig II (Bavaria’s Mad King Ludwig) and an essay challenging the homophobic maneuvers of certain enemies of German fascism. In addition, Selected Short Works by Klaus Mann includes a drama and three short stories written in English, all but one of which are appearing for the first time in print. One of the pieces in this volume, «Speed, a Story,» was considered by Christopher Isherwood to be Klaus Mann’s best writing. Taken as a whole, this collection suggests Klaus Mann should, at a minimum, be considered a German-American author. Although his infatuation with and his hopes for the United States were short-lived, while in America, Klaus Mann dedicated himself to writing exclusively in English. The final four works in this collection make a rich contribution to twentieth-century American letters. These selected works will appeal to those with an interest in lesbian and gay history, exilic studies, and twentieth-century German and American literature.

Timothy K. Nixon, Associate Professor of English and Modern Languages at Shepherd University, earned his PhD in English from The George Washington University and his M.A. in English from The College of William and Mary. Prior to his graduate studies, Nixon was awarded a Fulbright to Germany. Nixon’s early publications consider the works of Southern writers like Eudora Welty and Walker Percy. His recent publications focus on the lives and works of exilic authors like Christopher Isherwood, Klaus Mann, and Gertrude Stein.