Royal Highness by Thomas Mann (9781496111814)

Description - Royal Highness by Thomas Mann

"Royal Highness" by Thomas Mann has carried the stigma, over the years as a fluffy minor novel. Mann himself has labeled it "this little story of a prince" and "a novel of high life with a happy ending."
The story takes place in the Germany at the time of Kaiser Wilhelm, in a small territory ruled by a nobleman who is plagued by financial misfortune. His name is Klaus Heinrich, an affable but lazy member of the royal family who advances to the title of Grand Duke to replace his flinty elder brother who is disappointing the residences of the principality with his poor leadership.
During this time, Klaus Heinrich's circumspection of his recent past, reverses itself and weds a prepossessing heiress from America. This event rejuvenates the security and well-being of his domain.
The central theme of the novel is Klaus' proclamation to his new found love is "the public weal and our happiness, ... are interdependent''; the missive being that an enlightened Duke must exist in unity with his subjects.
This concept conveys a correlation with many of Mann's character studies of people who become cloistered from the essentials of human nature.
The story's message may have been determined by Mann's long-lasting competition with his older brother, Heinrich who, by comparison, was a minor novelist and never experienced much success.
"Royal Highness" is, in every respect, accomplishes its aim as a refined, elegant, stylish, and fun novel. Along with its almost mythical and romantic concepts, it also introduces some vibrant and humorous incidental personas, i.e. a high-strung, over bred collie named Percival, who supplies a hysterical parody of the stifling aristocrats in his company.
The book is worth reading!

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