The chosen one

A surprisingly ironic historical novel about Pope Gregory V, whom Thomas Mann imagines as marked by excess and incest

The Holy Sinner is the penultimate novel Thomas Mann finished before his death in 1955. Based on medieval sources, it lightly and even humorously tells the gruesome story of Pope Gregory V, a German who occupied the throne of Saint Peter at the end of the 10th century. Mann imagines a life full of atrocious and incestuous episodes, but his portrayal does not exclude an exemplary fable about fall and redemption. The blend of tones captivates readers from the beginning and, with very particular rules, transcends any historical novel in common use. A mature work, written after World War II, this very personal fiction harbors a satirical vein that can also be a tremendous irony about the terrible modern world.