The Holy Sinner

First published in 1951, <i>The Holy Sinner</i> explores a subject that fascinated Thomas Mann to the end of his life—the origins of evil and evil's connection with magic. Here Mann uses a medieval legend about 'the exceeding mercy of God and the birth of the blessed Pope Gregory' as he used the Biblical account of Joseph as the basis for <i>Joseph and His Brothers</i>—illuminating with his ironic sensibility the notion of original sin and transcendence of evil.