Biography
He was born in Marburg, the son of the historian Wilhelm Mommsen and great-grandson of the Roman historian Theodor Mommsen. He studied German, history and philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, the University of Tübingen and the University of Marburg. Mommsen served as professor at Tübingen (1960–1961), Heidelberg (1963–1968) and at the University of Bochum (since 1968). He married Margaretha Reindel in 1966. He has been a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany since 1960.
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“There never was a good biography of a good novelist. There couldn’t be. He is too many people, if he’s any good.”
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