Of German origin and naturalized Mexican, B.Traven was one of the great writers of the twentieth century. He is known for his unique combination of novelistic talent, psychological insight, social and political commitment and identification with the plight of the underclasses around the world. He is also known for his obsessive need to hide his parentage through the use of pseudonyms and refusal to appear in public, leading to the belief that his parentage was the “greatest literary mystery of the twentieth century”. 

On this website we support the most likely hypothesis for his parentage, and think that it best explains his life, work and need for anonymity. But for posterity he will be best known for his work under the name of B. Traven.

We welcome you to this website and invite you to read the Introduction tab of this section,  which provides a brief summary of Traven’s work and life. To make your experience navigating the site as seamless as possible, we suggest that you read the Visitor’s Guide which forms the other tab of this Section.