Cover of Buddenbrooks

Buddenbrooks

by Thomas Mann

1901 · literary fiction · adult

Set in 4 places · 4 primary
Sense of Place
5/5
Description · Open Library (CC0)

This epic, sub-titled ‘The Decline of a Family’, was Mann’s first novel, published in 1901. It traces the gradual downfall of a wealthy family over four generations in the city of Lubeck. The novel is widely regarded as a classic portrait of bourgeois society and family life in 19th century Germany.

Screen adaptations
  • Buddenbrooks (2008)film
  • The Buddenbrooks (1979)tv
  • The Buddenbrooks (1923)film

Set in

  • Lübeck · Germany
    merchant family home city
    ★ primary
  • Luebeck · Germany
    Hanseatic merchant dynasty
    ★ primary
  • Buddenbrookhaus, Mengstraße · Germany
    the family house on Mengstrasse, novel's central setting
    ★ primary
  • Travemünde · Germany
    seaside resort, setting of Tony Buddenbrook's first love
    ★ primary

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