What do you think?
Rate this book
Thomas Mann: The Making of an Artist, 1875-1911
Thomas The Making of an Artist, 1875-1911 Richard Thomas The Making of an Artist, 1875-1911 Peter Bedrick FIRST First Edition Thus, First Printing (1990). Not price-clipped. Published by Peter Bedrick Books, 1981. Octavo. Paperback. Book is like new. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Sag Harbor, New York.Seller 314827 Art We Buy Books! Collections - Libraries - Estates - Individual Titles. Message us if you have books to sell!
- GenresNonfiction
325 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Richard Winston
102 books18 followersRichard Winston was a celebrated American translator of German literature. He collaborated throughout his career with his wife, Clara.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 4, 2013
When I came across Thomas Mann: The Making of an Artist, 1875-1911 in the library, I was struck by its title, which is perhaps more humble than the all-inclusive “Thomas Mann”which graces the spines of most such books. The word “artist” is especially apt: as Winston elaborates, Mann’s dedication to his art and his concern with what it means to be an artist would follow him through his life and works.
The biography is very well written, which is encouraging considering its subject matter. Winston writes eloquently and the biography is highly readable. The chapters are arranged around general periods in Mann’s personal life, but Winston is never afraid to mention relevant material out of chronological sequence. He makes use of quotes from Mann’s letters and other writings to give us his own thoughts in his own voice, often written decades after the event Winston is describing. I found that this gave the biography a cohesive narrative. I never felt like we were blindly following the path of Mann’s life. Instead, we seemed to be taking a closer look at something we already knew a bit about.
The only part of the biography where Winston’s narration felt cumbersome was the beginning. Winston begins his biography before Mann’s birth with the same ancestors Mann made use of in his first novel, Buddenbrooks, as Winston takes care to point out. Up until Buddenbrooks is published, he also takes care to point out the similarities between the characters of Buddenbrooks and Mann’s family—something which he then gently reprimands Mann’s contemporaries for. Still, this part of the book is interesting in other ways. The passages on Mann’s school life and the ambiguous nature of his possible homosexuality (or, to use a word Winston never does, bisexuality) are especially thought-provoking.
After Mann completes Buddenbrooks, the biography opens up and the pacing improves. Mann’s friendships, his travels, his relationship with his brother, the courting of his wife—these are all tied effortlessly into a broader narrative which includes details about his work, health, and anxieties. We see where Mann may have found his material, the process he went through when he wrote, the finished product, and the reception it received when it was published.
Thomas Mann: The Making of an Artist, 1875-1911 ends with Mann’s writing of Death in Venice. This was not the end of Mann’s life: he lived from 1975 to 1955. As Clara Winston explains in the Afterword, her husband died in 1979 before he was able to finish the biography. As she attests, Winston was highly qualified to write a biography of Mann’s life: he met the author as a young man, and he and Clara translated many of Mann’s writings, including a volume of his letters. Winston’s depth and breadth of knowledge about Mann’s life, writing process, and works come across clearly, and he weaves together the threads of Mann’s life with undoubtable skill. He never gets bogged down in details, and everything he discusses is relevant to Mann’s life. Political events of the time fall to the background, as they likely would have for Mann. Though this biography will remain unfinished, I recommend it.
The biography is very well written, which is encouraging considering its subject matter. Winston writes eloquently and the biography is highly readable. The chapters are arranged around general periods in Mann’s personal life, but Winston is never afraid to mention relevant material out of chronological sequence. He makes use of quotes from Mann’s letters and other writings to give us his own thoughts in his own voice, often written decades after the event Winston is describing. I found that this gave the biography a cohesive narrative. I never felt like we were blindly following the path of Mann’s life. Instead, we seemed to be taking a closer look at something we already knew a bit about.
The only part of the biography where Winston’s narration felt cumbersome was the beginning. Winston begins his biography before Mann’s birth with the same ancestors Mann made use of in his first novel, Buddenbrooks, as Winston takes care to point out. Up until Buddenbrooks is published, he also takes care to point out the similarities between the characters of Buddenbrooks and Mann’s family—something which he then gently reprimands Mann’s contemporaries for. Still, this part of the book is interesting in other ways. The passages on Mann’s school life and the ambiguous nature of his possible homosexuality (or, to use a word Winston never does, bisexuality) are especially thought-provoking.
After Mann completes Buddenbrooks, the biography opens up and the pacing improves. Mann’s friendships, his travels, his relationship with his brother, the courting of his wife—these are all tied effortlessly into a broader narrative which includes details about his work, health, and anxieties. We see where Mann may have found his material, the process he went through when he wrote, the finished product, and the reception it received when it was published.
Thomas Mann: The Making of an Artist, 1875-1911 ends with Mann’s writing of Death in Venice. This was not the end of Mann’s life: he lived from 1975 to 1955. As Clara Winston explains in the Afterword, her husband died in 1979 before he was able to finish the biography. As she attests, Winston was highly qualified to write a biography of Mann’s life: he met the author as a young man, and he and Clara translated many of Mann’s writings, including a volume of his letters. Winston’s depth and breadth of knowledge about Mann’s life, writing process, and works come across clearly, and he weaves together the threads of Mann’s life with undoubtable skill. He never gets bogged down in details, and everything he discusses is relevant to Mann’s life. Political events of the time fall to the background, as they likely would have for Mann. Though this biography will remain unfinished, I recommend it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review