"Buddenbrooks" author (4)
I believe the answer is:
mann
'buddenbrooks author' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for mann that I've seen before include "Manfred --, 1960s pop band" , "Foreign author" , "German writer concerned with the role of the artist in society, d. 1955" , "Keyboard player Manfred" , "Thomas - - , German novelist" .)