Klaus

Klaus Mann, son of Thomas and bold political activist, strove beyond his father's shadow to become a talented author. Klaus was an exile, forced abroad while the Nazis defiled his homeland; a homosexual in a time of bigotry and intolerance; a heroin addict slithering between recovery and relapse. Above all he was a writer. Allan Massie vividly imagines Klaus's final days – trailing from café to bar in the haze of his various vices, replaying a lifetime of affairs and relationships while he toils over an unfinished manuscript. Encounters with family, old flames and famous literary figures reveal the roots of his fragile state. References to Mephisto, his most famous work and the battle for its German publication expose the bitter fall-out with Gustaf Gründgens, his brother-in-law and ex-lover. Massie uses compassion, affection and subtle prose to lead us into Klaus's mind and reveal the dashed hopes and inner turmoil of a flawed, singular character. Beyond the addictions and entanglements, he explores one writer's struggle for identity and recognition in a time of political and personal crisis.