The Blue Flower

The Blue Flower"An astonishing book . . . Fitzgerald's greatest triumph." New York Times Book Review The Blue Flower is set in the age of Goethe, in the small towns and great universities of late eighteenth century Germany. It tells the true story of Friedrich von Hardenberg, a passionate, impetuous student of philosophy who will later gain fame as the Romantic poet Novalis. Fritz seeks his father's permission to wed his "heart's heart," his "spirit's guide" a

"An astonishing book . . . Fitzgerald's greatest triumph." --New York Times Book Review

The Blue Flower is set in the age of Goethe, in the small towns and great universities of late eighteenth-century Germany. It tells the true story of Friedrich von Hardenberg, a passionate, impetuous student of philosophy who will later gain fame as the Romantic poet Novalis. Fritz seeks his father's permission to wed his "heart's heart," his "spirit's guide"--a plain, simple child named Sophie von K hn. It is an attachment that shocks his family and friends. Their brilliant young Fritz, betrothed to a twelve-year-old dullard? How can this be?

The irrationality of love, the transfiguration of the commonplace, the clarity of purpose that comes with knowing one's own fate--these are the themes of this beguiling novel, themes treated with a mix of wit, grace, and mischievous humor unique to the art of Penelope Fitzgerald.

"An extraordinary imagining . . . an original masterpiece." --Hermione Lee, Financial Times

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Published: 10/14/2014
ISBN: 9780544359451
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.90d