Goethe: A Life in Ideas
Goethe as a thinker rather than a monument, including the science he cared about more than the poetry.
Matthew Bell follows Goethe through the ideas that occupied him: the plays and poems, but also the botany, the colour theory and the long argument with Newton. The book takes the unfashionable works seriously, Iphigenia auf Tauris among them, which is a fair test of whether a critic actually likes Goethe or merely respects him.
Recommended by 1 Person
Tyler Cowen
Matthew Bell, Goethe: A Life in Ideas. A beautiful book, now in English we have Nicholas Boyle’s work and also this. Bell is wise enough to understand and value Iphigenia auf Tauris, a good test for Goethe appeciation. Although I had a library copy out to read, I went ahead and bought a copy of this one to own.
Source · October 2025
As an Amazon Associate, bookstoread.org earns from qualifying purchases. Links to Amazon on this page may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Spotted an error on this page? Tell us and we will fix it.