Karl Glogauer
Encyclopedia
Karl Glogauer is the protagonist
of two novels by Michael Moorcock
, and a secondary character in additional novels and short stories
. In Behold the Man
, he acts as a surrogate Christ after travelling to 28 AD
in a time machine
. The novel Breakfast in the Ruins
contains a somewhat different Glogauer, centering on a homosexual love affair between him and an unnamed man from Nigeria
. The chapters of the novel are interspersed with detailed, though fiction, fantasies about Glogauer's past lives.
Some of the aspects of Glogauer's childhood as described in Behold the Man are based on Moorcock's own childhood, though he says "I had such a happy childhood I had a hard time finding material, especially for the novel version". Likewise, Glogauer's frequent headaches were also inspired by migraines that Moorcock suffered from, although these were later discovered to be caused by an adverse reaction to nicotine rather than any psychological causes as in Glogauer's case (http://www.multiverse.org/fora/showpost.php?p=33228&postcount=20)
In Behold the Man, and at the start of Breakfast in the Ruins, Glogauer is white but by the end of Breakfast he has become black. (Similarly, Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius
is white in The Final Programme but black in A Cure For Cancer.)
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of two novels by Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
, and a secondary character in additional novels and short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
. In Behold the Man
Behold the Man
Behold the Man is a science fiction novel by Michael Moorcock. It originally appeared as a novella in a 1966 issue of New Worlds; later, Moorcock produced an expanded version which was first published in 1969 by Allison & Busby.. The title derives from the Gospel of John, Chapter 19, Verse 5:...
, he acts as a surrogate Christ after travelling to 28 AD
28
Year 28 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Silanus and Nerva...
in a time machine
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
. The novel Breakfast in the Ruins
Breakfast in the Ruins
Breakfast in the Ruins: A Novel of Inhumanity is a 1972 novel by Michael Moorcock, which mixes historical and speculative fiction. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the New English Library...
contains a somewhat different Glogauer, centering on a homosexual love affair between him and an unnamed man from Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. The chapters of the novel are interspersed with detailed, though fiction, fantasies about Glogauer's past lives.
Some of the aspects of Glogauer's childhood as described in Behold the Man are based on Moorcock's own childhood, though he says "I had such a happy childhood I had a hard time finding material, especially for the novel version". Likewise, Glogauer's frequent headaches were also inspired by migraines that Moorcock suffered from, although these were later discovered to be caused by an adverse reaction to nicotine rather than any psychological causes as in Glogauer's case (http://www.multiverse.org/fora/showpost.php?p=33228&postcount=20)
In Behold the Man, and at the start of Breakfast in the Ruins, Glogauer is white but by the end of Breakfast he has become black. (Similarly, Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius
Jerry Cornelius
Jerry Cornelius is a fictional secret agent and adventurer created by science fiction / fantasy author Michael Moorcock. Cornelius is a hipster of ambiguous and occasionally polymorphous sexuality. Many of the same characters feature in each of several Cornelius books, though the individual books...
is white in The Final Programme but black in A Cure For Cancer.)
Other appearances
Karl Glogauer also makes appearances - or is mentioned - in the following books/short stories:- The English Assassin (appears)
- The End of All Songs (appears)
- The Adventures of Jerry Cornelius (comic strip) (appears - where he bears a remarkable similarity to Moorcock)
- The Adventures of Una Persson and Catherine Cornelius in the Twentieth Century (mentioned)
- The Peking Junction (mentioned)
- The Eternal Champion (mentioned)
- The Condition of Muzak (reported that he was at the party with just about everyone else)