Thomas Mann’s novella is an account of the first-person narrator’s family holiday experiences in Torre de Venere, near Portoclemente, a popular summer resort on the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. In September 1925 Thomas Mann and his wife Katia took their children Elisabeth and Michael on holiday to Casamicciola on the island of Ischia; a year later they stayed from 31 August to 13 September 1926 at the Pensione Regina in Forte dei Marmi, Northwest of Pisa and near Portovenere, Torre di Greco and Portoclementino, where they witnessed the hypnotist Cesare Gabrielli. On 7 September 1926 Mann wrote to Hugo von Hofmannsthal regarding Mussolini’s fascist reign and the xenophobia of the Italians, which is reflected in the narrative. In August 1929, the Mann family spent their summer holiday in…
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Citation: Gallagher, David. "Mario und der Zauberer". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 May 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11466, accessed 21 November 2024.]