Lion Feuchtwanger, Der falsche Nero [The Pretender]

Ian Wallace (University of Bath)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.06: French Writing and Culture: Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Kate Averis (University of Western Australia), Hugo Azerad (University of Cambridge), Patrick ffrench (King's College London), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Akane Kawakami (Birkbeck, University of London), Siobhán McIlvanney (King's College London), Sinan Richards (King's College London), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1936

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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When Lion Feuchtwanger began work on

Der falsche Nero

[

The Pretender

] in mid-1935 his aim was to write a historical novel which would throw light on current circumstances in Germany and offer hope and reassurance to Hitler's opponents despite their despairing realisation that the “Third Reich” was not after all going to be an overnight affair. The subject matter of the novel had been suggested to Feuchtwanger by the legend of

Nero redivivus

– the alleged reappearance of the Roman Emperor Nero after his death in AD 68, as recounted in a variety of sources including Tacitus, Suetonius, the Apocalypse of John, and the Fourth Book of the Sibyl. According to this legend a man claiming to be Nero appeared in the Roman province of Syria during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian. In the…

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937 words

Citation: Wallace, Ian. "Der falsche Nero". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 July 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21662, accessed 27 April 2024.]

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