The Sorrows of Young Werther
By Ellen Palmer
1774
First Published
3.69
Average Rating
141
Number of Pages
This is Goethe's first novel, published in 1774. Written in diary form, it tells the tale of an unhappy, passionate young man hopelessly in love with Charlotte, the wife of a friend - a man who he alternately admires and detests. 'The Sorrows of Young Werther' became an important part of the 'Sturm und Drang movement, and greatly influenced later 'Romanticism'. The work is semi-autobiographical - in 1772, two years before the novel was published, Goethe had passed through a similar tempestuous period, when he lost his heart to Charlotte Buff, who was at that time engaged to his friend Johann Christian Kestner.
Avg Rating
3.69
Number of Ratings
153,223
5 STARS
26%
4 STARS
34%
3 STARS
27%
2 STARS
10%
1 STARS
4%
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