The Pious Dance: A New English Translation with Introduction

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

A Groundbreaking Literary Classic of LGBTQ Literature by Klaus Mann, First Published in Germany in 1926. Set in the Gay Underground of Berlin and Paris's Nightclub Scenes, the Novel Features the First Unapologetic Transgender Character in 20th-Century Literature.


The Pious Dance (Der fromme Tanz), Klaus Mann's first novel published when he was just twenty years old, stands as a groundbreaking work of early modernist German literature and a significant milestone in LGBT+ literary history. Written with the raw authenticity of youth, this semi-autobiographical work captures the spirited and tumultuous atmosphere of Weimar-era Berlin through the eyes of its protagonist, Andreas Magnus, a thinly veiled version of Mann himself.

This new edition features:


- A New English Translation from the Original German Text
- An Introduction by the Editor

The novel is particularly noteworthy for its pioneering representation of LGBT+ characters. Mann's matter-of-fact portrayal of homosexual relationships and desire was revolutionary for its time. The character of Paulchen, a transgender performer, is especially significant as one of the first sympathetic depictions of a transgender character in 20th-century literature. Mann presents these characters without moral judgment or sensationalism, a radical departure from contemporary literary treatments of such subjects.