ALEXANDER: A Novel of Utopia

Written by the son of the well-known German novelist Thomas Mann, this historical fantasy takes Alexander the Great for its subject, looking at his life and career, and examining his obsession with conquest and supremacy, regardless of its effects on his friends and lovers. The novel that also explores Klaus Mann's ambiguous sexuality. It was written in 1920s Germany in the aftermath of World War I and can be viewed as a fascinating study of power with highly political connotations. Which enemy was it against this time? 'They shuddered, for an ice-cold wind blew at them. They felt themselves become rigid and they were already thinking down. Their swords, which had so often conquered, fell from their hands, which had suddenly become weak. They were still mumbling; was it a farewell greeting to their king? Then their lips, which looked white, became silent...When Alexander noticed that they were dead, he was frightened of his loneliness. For a moment it seemed to him that it would be unbearable. Behind the wall a metallic voice warned: 'For the battle with us you had to be completely alone, Alexander. Even the last ones had to leave you!' A double gate sprang open, and a brightness, which was blinding, poured towards the king...' Everything was at stake. 128 page paperback with a foreword by Jean Cocteau.