Which famous poet was the German writer Thomas Mann's son-in-law?

Erika Mann (1905-1969) was the daughter of the German Nobel Laureate Thomas Mann (1875-1955), whose most famous works include "Buddenbrooks" and "The Magic Mountain".

Although Mann initially expressed disappointment that she was not a boy when she was born, the two of them became extremely close, and he seems to have made no secret of the fact that she was his favourite child.

In some ways it is never easy being the child of a famous parent, but Erika determinedly made her own way in life and established her own identity, gaining fame and acclaim as an actress and writer.

The coming of the Nazi regime brought dangerous and difficult times for the Manns, as it did for many German intellectuals. Erika made what was, frankly, a marriage of convenience to the Anglo-American poet Wystan Hugh Auden (1907-1973), perhaps most famous for the poem "Stop all the Clocks", which was used to great effect in the film "Four Weddings and a Funeral". Both Erika and Auden were gay. They were, however, great friends, and the marriage was never annulled.

After the war, Erika reported on the Nuremberg trials, and was scathing in some of her criticism of the defence lawyers.

She died of a brain tumour in 1969, and is buried in the same cemetery as her parents.