The Holy Sinner - Softcover

"A small masterpiece. . . . It is a triumph of art indistinguishable from moral sensibility which makes the miraculous, most incredible part of the story . . . the most convincing."--Stephen Spender, "New York Times Book Review

First published in 1951, "The Holy Sinner" explores a subject that fascinated Thomas Mann to the end of his life - the origins of evil and evil's connection with magic. Here Mann uses a medieval legend about 'the exceeding mercy of God and the birth of the blessed Pope Gregory' as he used the Biblical account of Joseph as the basis for Joseph and His Brothers - illuminating with his ironic sensibility the notion of original sin and transcendence of evil.