At the age of 19, Klaus Mann wrote one of the first queer novels in the German-speaking world. It was his first novel (out of seven) and drew heavily on his own experiences in Berlin and Paris. Like many of his works, it met with a mixed reception: some hailed his courage—given that homosexuality was a criminal offense in the Weimar Republic—while others scornfully criticized what they saw as his brazen openness regarding homoeroticism.