Thomas Mann – Mario and the Magician – First Edition 1930
£650.00
A first edition, first printing of ‘Mario and the Magician’ published by Martin Secker in 1930. A very good book with some spotting without inscriptions. In a very good unclipped wrapper with some wear to the edges and corners. A little chipping to the spine tips. One or two nicks – rare in the dust wrapper.
A political and psychological allegory set in a seaside resort in Italy during the rise of authoritarianism. The story is narrated by a German visitor observing a public performance by Cipolla, a grotesque hypnotist whose manipulative charisma allows him to dominate and humiliate his audience through psychological coercion. As spectators submit to Cipolla’s will, Mann illustrates how mass suggestion, fear, and wounded national pride enable tyranny to flourish. The tension culminates when Mario, a humble waiter publicly degraded by the magician, breaks free of the spell and kills Cipolla – an act that is both personal revenge and symbolic resistance. The novella serves as a warning about the seductive power of demagogues and the dangerous ease with which societies surrender freedom in exchange for authority and spectacle.
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- Description
Description
A first edition, first printing of ‘Mario and the Magician’ published by Martin Secker in 1930. A very good book with some spotting without inscriptions. In a very good unclipped wrapper with some wear to the edges and corners. A little chipping to the spine tips. One or two nicks – rare in the dust wrapper.
A political and psychological allegory set in a seaside resort in Italy during the rise of authoritarianism. The story is narrated by a German visitor observing a public performance by Cipolla, a grotesque hypnotist whose manipulative charisma allows him to dominate and humiliate his audience through psychological coercion. As spectators submit to Cipolla’s will, Mann illustrates how mass suggestion, fear, and wounded national pride enable tyranny to flourish. The tension culminates when Mario, a humble waiter publicly degraded by the magician, breaks free of the spell and kills Cipolla – an act that is both personal revenge and symbolic resistance. The novella serves as a warning about the seductive power of demagogues and the dangerous ease with which societies surrender freedom in exchange for authority and spectacle.
