For over a century the Wagners have presided over the Bayreuth Festival, playing host to many of the greatest and ghastliest figures in the arts and politics amidst family in-fighting and political controversy. Drawing on extensive interviews with members of the family and on both archive and recent material, Jonathan Carr presents a balanced but gripping portrait of the Wagners and their circle; a story which presents a mirror of Germany's rise, fall and resurrection.

Jonathan Carr served as a foreign correspondent for a number of years. His books include biographies of the former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt (1985) and of Gustav Mahler (1997), as well as Goodbye Germany (1993), a far from solemn obituary of the pre-unity Federal Republic.