*Doctor Faustus* (1943) is a seminal work by Thomas Mann and one of the most significant books of the 20th century. Under Mann’s pen, the old German legend of Doctor Johann Faustus—who sold his soul to the Devil not for money or fame, but for absolute knowledge—is transformed into a mysterious parable-like novel about the talented young composer Leverkühn. Whether in reality or merely in his imagination, Leverkühn strikes a similar pact with Darkness: everyone he loves is doomed to perish, and his genius will bring humanity nothing but misery.