Death in Venice

Thomas Mann is widely acknowledged as the greatest German novelist of this century. His 1912 novella Death in Venice is the most frequently read example of Mann's early work. Clayton Koelb's masterful translation improves upon its predecessors in two ways: it renders Mann into American (not British) English, and it remains true to Mann's original text without sacrificing fluency. For American readers, this is the translation of choice. "Backgrounds and Contexts" includes Mann's working notes, which allow students to observe the author's creative process. The notes are available here for the first time in English. Illuminating selections from Mann's essays and letters are also reprinted, as are period maps of Munich, Venice, and the Lido. "Criticism" includes six essays-by Andre von Gronicka, Manfred Dierks, T. J. Reed, Dorrit Cohn, David Luke, and Robert Tobin-sure to stimulate classroom discussion. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.

Thomas Mann (1875?1955) was one of the finest and most prolific German novelists of our century. His most famous works include Buddenbrooks, The Magic Mountain, Doctor Faustus, and the Joseph tetralogy.
Joachim Neugroschel has won three PEN translation awards and the French-American translation prize. He has also translated Thomas Mann's Death in Venice and Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs, both for Penguin Classics. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.