Robert Neumann was born In Vienna, where he studied medicine, chemistry and German philosophy. From 1918 he held several posts including assistant bookkeeper, foreign exchange broker, and director of a chocolate factory. After losing a fortune during the inflationary period, he became an author. He took a trip to the Orient as a sailor.
In 1927 he achieved some success with his literary parodies.
In 1934 Neumann emigrated to the UK and lived in Kent. In 1938 he spent some time in the USA. As an emigree he wrote in English. In 1939 he was elected managing director of the Austrian P.E.N. (Publicists, Essayists and Novelists) Club. In December 1941, he was co-signer on the Declaration of Austrian Associations in the U.K. His books, which had been translated into 23 languages, were banned in Nazi Germany. From 1958 he resided in Switzerland.
Neumann’s main works include Gedichte (Vienna, 1919); Mit Fremden Federn: Parodien (Stuttgart,1927); Hochstaplernovelle and Sintflut (both Stuttgart, 1930); Unter falscher Flagge: Lesebuch der deutschen Sprache fuer Fortgeschrittene and Die Macht (Vienna, 1932); Sir Basil Zaharoff (Zurich, 1934); Die blinden Passagiere ( Zurich, 1935); Struensee (Amsterdam, 1935), Eine Frau hat geschrieen (Zurich, 1938); By the Waters of Babylon (London, 1939); The Inquest (London, 1944); Die Kinder von Wien (1946) (“Children of Vienna” London, 1948); Blind Man’s Bluff (London, 1949); Mein altes Haus in Kent: Erinnerunge an Menschen und Gespenster (Munich, Vienna, Basel, 1957); and Gesammelte Werke in Einzelausgaben (Munich, Vienna, Basel, 1959).
Neumann was a member of: the International P.E.N. Club (vice president); Austrian P.E.N. Club, London (honorary president), and of the Free Academy of Arts, Hamburg (1961). Robert Neumann was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art (1965).
Robert Neumann died in Munich, Gerrmany, in January 1975.