Thomas Mann - biography.

Thomas Mann - biography. German novelist, essayist, and short-story writer Birth June 6, 1875 Death August 12, 1955 Place of Birth Lübeck, Germany Principal Munich, Germany Residence Known for Exploring in subtle narratives the tensions and incompatibility between middle-class values and the artistic temperament Award Winning the 1929 Nobel Prize in literature Milestones 1891 Mann's father died. This event provided material for his first novel. 1901 Published his first novel, Buddenbrooks, a bestseller that tracks the decline of a prosperous family over four generations 1905 Married Katia Pringsheim, an authority on Richard Wagner 1912 Published the novella Death in Venice, 1925, which recounts the temptations and the dangers of an artistic sensibility 1924 Published The Magic Mountain, a story set in a sanatorium on the eve of World War I, and a metaphor for the intellectual state of Europe at that time 1933 Went into exile after the Nazis came to power in Germany 1938 Moved to New Jersey to become a lecturer at Princeton University; later acquired U.S. citizenship 1947 Published Doctor Faustus, an allegorical novel combining the life of Nietzsche and the legend of Faust to express what he saw as Germany's degeneration 1952 Moved to Switzerland and remained there until his death in 1955 1954 Published The Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man, a short story that Mann reworked into a comic novel Did You Know Upon his return to Switzerland in 1952, Mann was the only former exile celebrated by both East and West Germany. Mann's diaries, released only recently, disclose homosexual episodes and yearnings, and have provided scholars with new insight into the erotic themes in his work. In 1906, Mann made a brief and unsuccessful attempt at drama with the play Fiorenza. In addition to fiction, Mann wrote many essays on political and cultural topics. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.