Love Affairs and Tales of Atrocity: Heinrich Mann's Unknown Drawings - Hardcover

Rare book

It has been documented on several occasions that Heinrich Mann didn't only write in his American exile, but also made drawings. In his journal, Thomas Mann writes about "a great number of obscene drawings" his brother had made. It was believed, up to now, that the drawings, with the exception of a sketchbook, were destroyed or lost. Volker Skierka made a sensational find: in an estate he discovered about 400 of Heinrich Mann's drawings believed to be forgotten. And there are by no means only renderings of "fat, naked females", or vaudeville and brothel scenes, as Thomas Mann maintained. In many cases, Heinrich Mann has combined his pictures in thematic cycles, he has made clear where he stood politically and assimilated literary impressions with a deadly pen. Love Affairs and Tales of Atrocity present about 150 of the most interesting drawings and topics out of this dossier. These drawings and the highly instructive classification as far as his literary work is concerned, will add to and partly change the picture of the writer Heinrich Mann in a lasting way. Also the writer family's discussion on sexual topics will be revived.

Heinrich Mann, born in Lubeck in 1871, went into exile in Southern France in 1933, and later on in the US. He died in Los Angeles in 1950. Among his most important books are Small Town Tyrant, The Patrioteer, Young Henry of Navarre and An Age Is Examined. Volker Skierka, born in 1952, was a correspondent for Suddeutsche Zeitung, between 1979-1992, and five years editor-in-chief of Merian magazine. He lives in Hamburg as a freelance publicist. He wrote biographies of Lion Feuchtwanger and Fidel Castro among others.