One summer’s day in 1952, Thomas Mann lined up at Cambridge University’s Senate House to receive an honorary doctorate. The ceremony passed without incident. Afterwards, an Indian man was seen sidling up to him on King’s Parade. It turned out to be Jawaharlal Nehru: the Prime Minister of India. He had also just been honoured by the university. “I would like to pay my own tribute,” Nehru announced to Mann. But to what? It was, according to witnesses, The Magic Mountain that Nehru wished so keenly to discuss with its author. “A great novel indeed,” Nehru reportedly said.
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