Oliver Hilmes, born in 1971, studied history, politics, and psychology in Paris, Marburg, and Potsdam, and holds a doctorate in twentieth-century history. His best-selling work includes Malevolent Muse: The Life of Alma Mahler and Cosima Wagner: The Lady of Bayreuth. Most recently he has published Franz Liszt: Musician, Celebrity, Superstar, Ludwig II.: Der unzeitgemäße König, and Berlin 1936: Fascism, Fear, and Triumph Set Against Hitler’s Olympic Games (Other Press, 2018).