Mann, Heinrich [key], 1871–1950, German novelist; older brother of Thomas Mann. He was a prolific author; themes of social criticism dominate his works. The Poor (1917, tr. 1917) and The Chief (1925, tr. 1925) deal with regeneration through democracy. The famous Professor Unrat (1905; tr. The Blue Angel, 1932, film 1930; tr. Small Town Tyrant, 1944) tells of the degeneration of a professor through his love for a corrupt woman and of his attempt, in turn, to corrupt others. Die Göttinnen (3 vol., 1902–4; tr. The Goddess, 1918, Diana, 1929) explores sensuality and perversity. The theme of the artist as decadent is found in the novellas of Flöten und Dolche [flutes and daggers] (2 vol., 1904–5).
See H. Wysling, ed., Letters of Heinrich and Thomas Mann, 1900–1949 (1998); Mann's autobiographical Revisiting an Era (1945); N. Hamilton, The Brothers Mann: The Lives of Heinrich and Thomas Mann (1978) and E. Juers, House of Exile: The Lives and Times of Heinrich Mann and Nelly Kroeger-Mann (2011); studies by D. Roberts (1971) and K. V. Gunnemann (2002).
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