"I am overwhelmed by how good it is. [Koelb] has managed to render Mannís style and irony in English, without compromising meaning or readability, which is quite a feat."
-Ruth Gross, University of Texas at Arlington

Page after page of [Koelbís] translation flows smoothly, idiomatically, faithfully....
-Mark Anderson, Columbia University

Thomas Mann is widely acknowledged as the greatest German novelist of this century. His 1912 novella Death in Venice is the most frequently read example of Mannís early work.

Clayton Koelbís masterful translation improves upon its predecessors in two ways: it renders Mann into American (not British) English, and it remains true to Mannís original text without sacrificing fluency. For American readers, this is the translation of choice.

Backgrounds and Contexts includes Mannís working notes, which allow students to observe the authorís creative process. The notes are available here for the first time in English.

Illuminating selections from Mannís essays and letters are also reprinted, as are period maps of Munich, Venice, and the Lido.

Criticism includes six essays—by AndrÈ von Gronicka, Manfred Dierks, T. J. Reed, Dorrit Cohn, David Luke, and Robert Tobin—sure to stimulate classroom discussion.

A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.