Contents
Elias Canetti
Exploring collective behaviour in Crowds and Power and obsession in Auto-da-Fé.
Auto-da-Fé · Crowds and Power
- Born
- 25 July 1905
- Birthplace
- Ruse, Bulgaria
- Died
- 14 August 1994
More people
Elias Canetti
German-language writer whose novels, memoirs and essays examine how people think and behave together. He grew up across several countries and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981.
Early life
A multilingual childhood
Born into a Sephardic family in Bulgaria and moved to Manchester as a child.
Vienna and science
Learned German after his father’s death and later completed a doctorate in chemistry in Vienna.
Career
- 1920s
Turning toward literature
Developed his writing while studying chemistry and observing Vienna’s public life.
- 1930s
Novel and exile
Published Auto-da-Fé and fled Austria after the Nazi annexation.
- 1960–1981
Essays and recognition
Published Crowds and Power and major memoirs before receiving the Nobel Prize.
Selected writing
Auto-da-Fé
A scholar’s enclosed intellectual world collapses into destructive obsession.
Crowds and Power
A wide-ranging study of crowds, command and the desire to survive others.
The Tongue Set Free
A memoir of his multilingual childhood and early education.
Beyond work
A life across borders
Lived in Britain for many years and later spent much of his time in Zurich.
Literary partnership
His first wife, Veza Canetti, was also a novelist and playwright.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Institutional biography and career ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
