31. Fraeulein Else
box 5/1
THOMAS MANN
337
a democracy which, though undesired and unrecognized—never¬
theless exists. The novel predominates—even the mere produc¬
tion in this field easily surpassing in importance, that of the drama.
In its concept and effect, no contemporary theatrical production can
be compared with a novel like Der Kopf—and I venture to name
also its brother-piece, Der Zauberberg—or with the great books
of Alfred Döblin, which last I reproach myself for not having
mentioned here.
Publishers have by no means overlookec this turn of events.
They are exploring the past in order to satisfy fully the demands
of the times and to complete the triumph of the epic. Balzac’s
complete works, in several translations, are going through one
edition after another. Aseries of books is now appearing, of which
I should particularly like to speak. It is entitled Epikon, A Collec¬
tion of Classical Novels, and comprises thirty works of world
literature, a true epic pantheon in which the publisher, Paul List
in Leipzig, ’wishes to include everything great and enduring in
human experience, which has been embodied during the last hun¬
dred years, in the literature of the novel.?' The selection, made by
a young Austrian poet, F. A. Reinhardt, is excellent. Among Ger¬
man authors, we have Immermann, Jean Paul, Goethe, Keller,
and Stifter; among English authors, Meredith, Dickens, Thack¬
eray, Fielding, and Defoe. We have Stendhal. Balzac, Flaubert,
and Victor Hugo; Turgenev, Tolstoy, Gogol, and Goncharov; the
Italian authors, Manzoni and Fogazzaro; nor have Don Quixote,
Nils Lyne, and the immortal Ulenspiegel of De Coster been
omitted. The translators have been carefully chosen and their
work is extraordinary. Writers of the distinction of Gerhart
Hauptmann, Hermann Hesse, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Rudolf
Kassner, Count Hermann Keyserling, Heinrich Mann, Rudolf
Borchardt, and Jacob Wassermann have added their support to
the plan by providing individual comments to precede or follow
the various works. Your correspondent himself was given the
disconcerting yet inspiriting task of writing the introduction to
Goethe’s Die Wahlverwandtschaften—and he speaks of it with
a personal satisfaction which is not, however, without its imper¬
sonal justification. Also, this collection may be recommended to
foreigners. It is a beautiful monument—this survey of the world’s
literature—after Goethe’s own heart. The format is simple and
box 5/1
THOMAS MANN
337
a democracy which, though undesired and unrecognized—never¬
theless exists. The novel predominates—even the mere produc¬
tion in this field easily surpassing in importance, that of the drama.
In its concept and effect, no contemporary theatrical production can
be compared with a novel like Der Kopf—and I venture to name
also its brother-piece, Der Zauberberg—or with the great books
of Alfred Döblin, which last I reproach myself for not having
mentioned here.
Publishers have by no means overlookec this turn of events.
They are exploring the past in order to satisfy fully the demands
of the times and to complete the triumph of the epic. Balzac’s
complete works, in several translations, are going through one
edition after another. Aseries of books is now appearing, of which
I should particularly like to speak. It is entitled Epikon, A Collec¬
tion of Classical Novels, and comprises thirty works of world
literature, a true epic pantheon in which the publisher, Paul List
in Leipzig, ’wishes to include everything great and enduring in
human experience, which has been embodied during the last hun¬
dred years, in the literature of the novel.?' The selection, made by
a young Austrian poet, F. A. Reinhardt, is excellent. Among Ger¬
man authors, we have Immermann, Jean Paul, Goethe, Keller,
and Stifter; among English authors, Meredith, Dickens, Thack¬
eray, Fielding, and Defoe. We have Stendhal. Balzac, Flaubert,
and Victor Hugo; Turgenev, Tolstoy, Gogol, and Goncharov; the
Italian authors, Manzoni and Fogazzaro; nor have Don Quixote,
Nils Lyne, and the immortal Ulenspiegel of De Coster been
omitted. The translators have been carefully chosen and their
work is extraordinary. Writers of the distinction of Gerhart
Hauptmann, Hermann Hesse, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Rudolf
Kassner, Count Hermann Keyserling, Heinrich Mann, Rudolf
Borchardt, and Jacob Wassermann have added their support to
the plan by providing individual comments to precede or follow
the various works. Your correspondent himself was given the
disconcerting yet inspiriting task of writing the introduction to
Goethe’s Die Wahlverwandtschaften—and he speaks of it with
a personal satisfaction which is not, however, without its imper¬
sonal justification. Also, this collection may be recommended to
foreigners. It is a beautiful monument—this survey of the world’s
literature—after Goethe’s own heart. The format is simple and