The Story of a Novel: The Genesis of Doctor Faustus

Description taken from dust jacket: In the beginning Mann wanted simply to tell the story of how he came to write a Faust novel and how under the influence of contemplation and reading and "the pressure and tumult of outer events," it became the celebrated book we know. But as so often hammered with Mann, the book he wrote was quite different from the book he planned, and in the end The Story of a Novel became no less than an account of the challenge, the delights, and the torments of the creative process itself— a unique answer to the question readers of masterpieces have never tried of asking "How did he do it?" Manny ells the absorbing story of the long period of incubation of Doctor Faustus and its sudden ripening under the impact of world events. He recalls his many hours of self-doubt and the trials that his self-criticism imposed upon him at every stage. And throughout there are intimate descriptions of his life in wartime California, of the circle of "men of understanding and good will" with whom he was surrounded, of the cast reading the did and the music he heard, and of his day-by-day exposure to news from the fronts and news especially from his native land, whose guilt and misery came to form an obbligato to his novel. About two thirds of the way through, Mann underwent serious chest surgery in a Chicago hospital. He came out of this ordeal astonishingly well, and he writes with fascinating detail, and indeed humorous charm, of his experiences with medical men, surgeons, and nurses. This "story of a novel" is, therefore, something very special— the nearest thing to an autobiography of Mann's later years that we can hope for. It will interest all his admirers, everyone who is anxious to observe what Baudelaire called the "mind's heavenly mechanics," and anyone who is simply curious about a great man.

Book is in good condition. Stains noticeable on end papers and in some spots on dust jacket. Small tear on inner front of jacket. Slight wear at the top of dust jacket and creasing on jacket. Jacket will be covered in Mylar upon sale.