He was born in Luebeck, Germany and studied at Munich University before becoming a writer.

His early masterpiece, 'Budden-brooks' (1901), described the decline of a family over four generations. He produced several short stories and novellas, such as 'Death in Venice'.

His second great novel 'The Magic Mountain' is considered one of the greatest works of world literature. In it he shows how intellectual people think and live in the shadows of death at a Swiss tuberculosis sanatorium.

Mann spent the last years of his life in Switzerland where he produced his greatest work, a modern version of the medieval legend, 'Doktor Faustus' (1947).