411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
1929 Nobel Prize in Literature
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Award
20px 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature Thomas Mann Swedish Academy 1901 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1929/summary/ Thomas Mann in Los Angeles (cropped).jpg "principally for his great novel, Buddenbrooks, which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature." 12 November 1929http://libris.kb.se/bib/8345517 Nobelpriset i litteratur. Nomineringar och utlåtanden 1901–1950 Bo Svensén 2001 Svenska Akademien 9789113010076 1 November 2025 (announcement)
10 December 1929 (ceremony) Stockholm, Sweden 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature 1930
The 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the German author Thomas Mann (1875–1955) "principally for his great novel, Buddenbrooks, which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature."The Nobel Prize in Literature 1929 nobelprize.orghttps://www.nytimes.com/1929/11/13/archives/thomas-mann-wins-nobel-prize-for-1929-german-author-of-buddenbrooks.html THOMAS MANN WINS NOBEL PRIZE FOR 1929; German Author of "Buddenbrooks" Was Long Mentioned for Greatest Literary Award.WINNER RECEIVES $46,299Prof. Richardson and Duc de Broglie Get 1928 and 1929 Awards for Work in Physics.CHEMISTRY PRIZE DIVIDEDArthur Harden, London University, and Hans von Euler, Upsala, Share 1929 Distinction. 13 November 1929 New York Times He is the fourth German author to be awarded the literature prize after Paul von Heyse in 1910.
Laureate
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a prolific writer of fiction and novels who wrote in a variety of genres. He was a merchant's son and was supposed to inherit the family's grain business in Lübeck, but like his older brother Heinrich, he decided to focus on literature. In 1905, he married Katia Pringsheim, and the couple had six children, four of whom also became significant authors (Erika, Klaus, and Golo). His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas are noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized versions of German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer. His best known oeuvres include Der Tod in Venedig ("Death in Venice", 1912), Der Zauberberg ("The Magic Mountain", 1924), Joseph und seine Brüder ("Joseph and His Brothers", 1933–1943), and Doktor Faustus ("Dr. Faustus", 1947).Thomas Mann – Facts nobelprize.orgThomas Mann britannica.com
180px|thumb|left|Mann's Buddenbrooks published in 1901.
Buddenbrooks
Mann won the Nobel Prize primarily because of his breakthrough 1901 novel Buddenbrooks, which chronicles the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie in the years from 1835 to 1877. The novel was subtitled "a family's decline [Verfall einer Familie]" in its original language. Although the Nobel award generally recognizes an author's body of work, the Swedish Academy identified it as the principal reason for his prize. The rationale could also be seen as a reference to one of Mann's later works, The Magic Mountain, a coming-of-age story and, together with Buddenbrooks, his most well-known composition.
Nominations
Thomas Mann was only nominated thrice before he was finally awarded in 1929. He was first nominated in 1924 by the 1912 Nobel Prize laureate Gerhart Hauptmann. His 1929 nomination came from the Nobel Committee member Anders Österling (1884–1981). In 1948, Mann was unconventionally nominated again by two Swedish Academy members (H. Gullberg and E. Löfstedt),Nomination archive – Thomas Mann nobelprize.org but his nomination was not considered during the deliberation process due to the reason that he was already a Nobel laureate.http://www.kulturdelen.com/2012/09/25/thomas-mann-och-nobelpriset/ Thomas Mann och nobelpriset Alan Asaid 25 September 2012 kulturdelen.com
The Swedish Academy received 30 nominations for 24 authors among them Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Kostis Palamas, Johan Bojer, Édouard Estaunié, and Arno Holz. Six of the nominees were first-time nominated namely Stefan George, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Thorton Wilder, Cale Young Rice, Benedetto Croce, and Knud Rasmussen. The Spanish writer Concha Espina de la Serna was the only female nominee.Nomination archive – 1929 nobelprize.org
The authors Olav Aukrust, Katharine Lee Bates, Barbara Baynton, Maurice Bouchor, Bliss Carman, Edward Carpenter, Lucy Clifford, Georges Courteline, Anna Bowman Dodd, Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler, Albert Giraud, Shtjefën Gjeçovi, Alice Stopford Green, Max Lehmann, Liang Qichao, Mary Elizabeth Mann, John Morris-Jones, Jānis Pliekšāns (known as Rainis), Hans Prutz, Grace Rhys, Dallas Lore Sharp, Flora Annie Steel, Vedam Venkataraya Sastry died in 1929 without having been nominated for the prize.
Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)notes The asterisks (*) denote nominations that were received after the deadline for 1928 and was moved to 1929.1Rudolf Hans Bartsch (1873–1952)Republic of Austria Austrianovel, short story, essays, dramaHugo Spitzer (1854–1937)2Rufino Blanco Fombona (1874–1844) Venezuelaessays, literary criticismFidelino de Figueiredo (1888–1967)3Johan Bojer (1872–1959) Norwaynovel, dramaThomas Johannes Parr (1862–1935)* Nathan Söderblom (1866–1931)*4Georg Bonne (1859–1945) Weimar Republic GermanyessaysEdmund Hildebrandt (1872–1939) Karl Heldmann (1869–1943)5Otokar Březina (1868–1929) Czechoslovakiapoetry, essays27 professorsnotes Otokar Březina was nominated by 27 professors from Prague, Brünn (Brno) and Pressburg (now Bratislava), all in former Czechoslovakia.6Benedetto Croce (1866–1952) Kingdom of Italy Italyhistory, philosophy, lawFriedrich Meinecke (1862–1954) Karl Vossler (1872–1949) Julius von Schlosser (1866–1938)7Paul Ernst (1866–1933) Weimar Republic Germanynovel, short story, drama, essays13 professors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland8Concha Espina de la Serna (1869–1955) Restoration (Spain) Spainnovel, short storynumerous professorsnotes Concha Espina's nomination came from Barcelona, Granada, Santiago de Compostela, Valencia and Bordeaux, among others, in 13 separate letters. Fredrik Wulff (1845–1930)notes E. Walberg, professor at Lund, corroborated Fredrik Wulff's nomination of Concha Espina.9Édouard Estaunié (1862–1942) French Third Republic Francenovel, essaysErik Staaff (1867–1936)10Stefan George (1868–1933)Weimar Republic Germanypoetry, translationErnst Bertram (1884–1957)*11Bertel Gripenberg (1878–1947)FinlandSwedenpoetry, drama, essaysNathan Söderblom (1866–1931)*12Ivan Grozev (1872–1957)Kingdom of Bulgaria Bulgariadrama, poetry, literary criticismMikhail Arnaudov (1878–1978)*13Arno Holz (1863–1929) Weimar Republic Germanypoetry, drama412 professors and teachersnotes A. Holz was nominated by 412 professors and other teachers at German, Austrian, Swiss and other universities and colleges. The nominations were sent by the Faculty of Philosophy at the university in Königsberg, Germany14Rudolf Maria Holzapfel (1874–1930) Austriaphilosophy, essays3 members of the Prussian Academy of Arts15William Ralph Inge (1860–1954)United Kingdomtheology, essaysNathan Söderblom (1866–1931)16Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1884–1931) SwedenpoetryIvar Alnæs (1868–1956)notes norway Erik Axel Karlfeldt was nominated by D. Seip and I. Alnaes, both members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Didrik Arup Seip (1884–1963)norway17Thomas Mann (1875–1955)Weimar Republic Germanynovel, short story, drama, essaysAnders Österling (1884–1981)18Kostis Palamas (1859–1943) Second Hellenic Republic Greecepoetry, essaysFrederik Poulsen (1876–1950)19Knud Rasmussen (1897–1933)Denmarkshort story, memoir, essaysWilliam Thalbitzer (1873–1958)20Cale Young Rice (1872–1943)United States 1912poetry, dramaEdward Franklin Farquhar (1883–1960)*21Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935) United Statespoetry, dramaHjalmar Hammarskjöld (1862–1953)22Henrik Schück (1855–1947) Swedenliterary criticism, essaysUlrik Anton Motzfeldt (1871–1942)23Ludwig von Pastor (1854–1928)Weimar Republic GermanyhistoryOlof Kolsrud (1885–1945)*24Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) United States 1912drama, novel, short storyAnders Österling (1884–1981)
Prize decision
In 1924, when Thomas Mann was first nominated for the prize, the Nobel committee were divided. His candidacy was supported by committee chairman Per Hallström and Anders Österling, while other members had doubts to award Mann. It was decided to await his next work for further deliberations. Following the publication of the novel The Magic Mountain, Mann was nominated again by Österling in 1928, but the Nobel committee concluded that the novel (later widely regarded as Mann's masterpiece) was not as strong as his earlier works. Per Hallström in particular pushed for a prize to Mann, and the following year the committee agreed on that Thomas Mann should be awarded the prize, primarily for the novel Buddenbrooks. The Swedish Academy followed the recommendation and voted for a prize to Mann.
Prize announcement
The prize decision for 1929 was officially announced by the Swedish Academy on 12 November that year, but according to the New York Times Thomas Mann's name hade been disclosed as the recipient of the award already in mid-September. Other writers speculated to be awarded the 1929 literature prize included British authors John Galsworthy (awarded in 1932) and G. K. Chesterton, Americans Sinclair Lewis (awarded in 1930) and Thornton Wilder, Italian Guglielmo Ferrero, Germans Erich Maria Remarque and Ricarda Huch, and Russian Maxim Gorky.
Notes
References
External links
The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony 1929 nobelprize.org
Category:Thomas Mann
1929
Nobel