Goethe
His Faustian Life - the Extraordinary Story of Modern Germany, a Troubled Genius and the Poem That Made Our World
1st Edition
Published on 26. September 2024
416 pages
978-1-4729-9485-1 (ISBN)
Description
** A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR **
'Wild, brilliant and has all the intelligence to rival its subject. Five Stars.' - Frances Wilson, The Telegraph
'Exuberant and wide-ranging' - Literary Review
'Passionate' - The Times
A spellbinding recreation of Goethe's life and work from one of our greatest biographers.
Goethe was the inventor of the psychological novel, a pioneer scientist, great man of the theatre and a leading politician. As A. N. Wilson argues in this groundbreaking biography, it was his genius and insatiable curiosity that helped catapult the Western world into the modern era.
A N. Wilson tackles the life of Goethe with characteristic wit and verve. From his youth as a wild literary prodigy to his later years as Germany's most respected elder statesman, Wilson hones in on Goethe's undying obsession with the work he would spend his entire life writing - Faust.
Goethe spent over 60 years writing his retelling of Faust, a strange and powerful work that absorbed all the philosophical questions of his time as well as the revolutions and empires that came and went. It is his greatest work, but as Wilson explores, it is also something much more - it is the myth of how we came to be modern.
'Wild, brilliant and has all the intelligence to rival its subject. Five Stars.' - Frances Wilson, The Telegraph
'Exuberant and wide-ranging' - Literary Review
'Passionate' - The Times
A spellbinding recreation of Goethe's life and work from one of our greatest biographers.
Goethe was the inventor of the psychological novel, a pioneer scientist, great man of the theatre and a leading politician. As A. N. Wilson argues in this groundbreaking biography, it was his genius and insatiable curiosity that helped catapult the Western world into the modern era.
A N. Wilson tackles the life of Goethe with characteristic wit and verve. From his youth as a wild literary prodigy to his later years as Germany's most respected elder statesman, Wilson hones in on Goethe's undying obsession with the work he would spend his entire life writing - Faust.
Goethe spent over 60 years writing his retelling of Faust, a strange and powerful work that absorbed all the philosophical questions of his time as well as the revolutions and empires that came and went. It is his greatest work, but as Wilson explores, it is also something much more - it is the myth of how we came to be modern.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
File size
4,14 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4729-9485-1 (9781472994851)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
A. N. Wilson
Goethe
His Faustian Life - The Extraordinary Story of Modern Germany, a Troubled Genius and the Poem that Made Our World
Book
09/2024
Bloomsbury Continuum
€31.50
Available immediately
Person
A.N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is one of the outstanding biographers of our time - his biographies of Tolstoy, C. S. Lewis, Milton and Hilaire Belloc are beyond compare.
In 2007, Wilson's novel, Winnie and Wolf, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and in 2020 The Mystery of Charles Dickens was published to great critical acclaim. He lives in North London.
In 2007, Wilson's novel, Winnie and Wolf, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and in 2020 The Mystery of Charles Dickens was published to great critical acclaim. He lives in North London.
Content
CONTENTS
A Note on Translations
Timeline
1. These Very Serious Jokes
2. Turning Life Into a Picture
3. The Spirit of Nature - Where are you, Faust?
4. Some Notes on Suicide
5. Bildung
6. Weimar
7. Archbishop of Titipu
8. Italy
9. Vulpius
10. War
11. The Friendship With Schiller
12. The Parades of Death
13. Demons
14. Ottilie
15. Eckermann
16. The Myth of Weimar
17. Soon, Peace
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Notes
Index
A Note on Translations
Timeline
1. These Very Serious Jokes
2. Turning Life Into a Picture
3. The Spirit of Nature - Where are you, Faust?
4. Some Notes on Suicide
5. Bildung
6. Weimar
7. Archbishop of Titipu
8. Italy
9. Vulpius
10. War
11. The Friendship With Schiller
12. The Parades of Death
13. Demons
14. Ottilie
15. Eckermann
16. The Myth of Weimar
17. Soon, Peace
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Notes
Index
