Joseph and His Brothers

A large work in four parts, retelling the biblical story of Joseph from Genesis. Mann follows Jacob's favoured son, his gifts and vanity, his troubled relations with his brothers, and his rise in the foreign land of Egypt. Rather than simply repeat the tale, he fills it with the customs, myths, psychology and humour of the ancient world. Written over many years, partly in exile as Europe darkened, it is a warm and learned meditation on destiny, family and human dignity.