The first thorough and balanced history of Germany's most famous family. For well over a century the Wagner clan has run the Bayreuth Festival and played host to many of the greatest and ghastliest figures in the arts and politics. Its members have also regularly battled one another - indeed, with its jealousy, greed, passion and intrigue the Wagner family saga is as riveting as any opera. Drawing on extensive interviews with members of the family and on both archive and recent material, Jonathan Carr - author of a highly praised biography of Mahler - presents a balanced but gripping portrait of the Wagners and their circle. He takes a fresh look at hotly controversial matters such as Richard Wagner's anti-semitism and the family's role during the so-called 'Third Reich'. Not least he underlines the decisive roles played in Bayreuth over decades by two British-born members of the clan, both of them fervent admirers of Adolf Hitler.