From My Life: Poetry and Truth, Part 4 (Goethe: The Collected Works, Vol. 5)

von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang; Saine, Thomas P.; Sammons, Jeffrey L.

ISBN 10: 0691037981 / ISBN 13: 9780691037981

Published by Princeton University Press (edition Text is Free of Markings), 1994

About this Item

The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way.

Seller Inventory # 0691037981-7-1-13

Bibliographic Details

• Title: From My Life: Poetry and Truth, Part 4 (Goethe: The Collected Works, Vol. 5)
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (edition Text is Free of Markings)
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691037981
• ISBN 13: 9780691037981
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: Text is Free of Markings.
• Condition: Fair

About this title

Synopsis

An authoritative English translation of Goethe’s classic autobiographical account of war and conquest in the age of revolution

In August 1792, Goethe accompanied Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, during the Prusso-Austrian invasion of revolutionary France to restore Louis XVI as king. After the Cannonade of Valmy that September, the German armies were forced to retreat, never again to threaten the heart of France until the end of the Napoleonic era. The French subsequently invaded the Rhineland and captured the city of Mainz, claiming it for the French Republic. When German armies besieged Mainz, Goethe witnessed the capture of the city at the close of 1793.

Goethe’s narrative of these events has become a classic text for the history of Franco-German relations during the revolutionary period. A product of recollection, historical hindsight, and considerable study of other published sources, it is a fascinating document of the military catastrophe exposing the decline of Prussian power since the death of Frederick II, which eventually culminated in Napoleon’s devastating 1806 victory at Jena and Auerstedt.

About the Author

Thomas P. Saine (1941–2013) was professor emeritus of German at the University of California, Irvine. His books include Black Bread-White Bread: German Intellectuals and the French Revolution. Jeffrey L. Sammons (1936–2021) was the Leavenworth Professor of German Literature Emeritus at Yale University. His books include Heinrich Heine: A Modern Biography (Princeton).