Klaus Mann’s novel, written in Amsterdam in 1936, is inspired by the myth of Faust. The superficial liberalism of the main character swiftly gives way to a need for adulation and power and in order to consolidate his position he is prepared to enter into a pact with the “Devil”.... The play is a study of the relationship between art and politics, power and ethics, examining not only the rise of fascism but the sociological and intellectual conditions that made such a rise possible.