Magnificent rebels : the first Romantics and the invention of the self / Andrea Wulf.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wulf, Andrea, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Germany.

Romanticism--Germany--Biography.

Romanticism.

Self in literature.

Authors, German--19th century--Biography.

Authors, German.

Self-realization.

Genre:

Biographies.

Biography.

Physical Description:

xi, 494 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

First American edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2022.

Summary:

"From the best-selling author of The Invention of Nature comes an exhilarating story about a remarkable group of young rebels-poets, novelists, philosophers-who, through their epic quarrels, passionate love stories, heartbreaking grief, and radical ideaslaunched Romanticism onto the world stage, inspiring some of the greatest thinkers of the time. When did we begin to be as self-centered as we are today? At what point did we expect to have the right to determine our own lives? When did we first ask the question, How can I be free? It all began in a quiet university town in Germany in the 1790s, when a group of playwrights, poets, and writers put the self at center stage in their thinking, their writing, and their lives. This brilliant circle included thefamous poets Goethe, Schiller, and Novalis; the visionary philosophers Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel; the contentious Schlegel brothers; and, in a wonderful cameo, Alexander von Humboldt. And at the heart of this group was the formidable Caroline Schlegel, who sparked their dazzling conversations about the self, nature, identity, and freedom. The French revolutionaries may have changed the political landscape of Europe, but the young Romantics incited a revolution of the mind that transformed our world forever. We are still empowered by their daring leap into the self, and by their radical notions of the creative potential of the individual, the highest aspirations of art and science, the unity of nature, and the true meaning of freedom. We also still walk the same tightrope between meaningful self-fulfillment and destructive narcissism, between the rights of the individual and our responsibilities toward our community and future generations. At the heart of this inspiring book is the extremely modern tension between the dangers of selfishness and the thrilling possibilities of free will"-- Provided by publisher.

"From the best-selling author of The Invention of Nature comes an exhilarating story about a remarkable group of young rebels-poets, novelists, philosophers--who, through their epic quarrels, passionate love stories, heartbreaking grief, and radical ideas launched Romanticism onto the world stage, inspiring some of the greatest thinkers of the time. When did we begin to be as self-centered as we are today? At what point did we expect to have the right to determine our own lives? When did we first ask the question, How can I be free? It all began in a quiet university town in Germany in the 1790s, when a group of playwrights, poets, and writers put the self at center stage in their thinking, their writing, and their lives. This brilliant circle included the famous poets Goethe, Schiller, and Novalis; the visionary philosophers Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel; the contentious Schlegel brothers; and, in a wonderful cameo, Alexander von Humboldt. And at the heart of this group was the formidable Caroline Schlegel, who sparked their dazzling conversations about the self, nature, identity, and freedom. The French revolutionaries may have changed the political landscape of Europe, but the young Romantics incited a revolution of the mind that transformed our world forever. We are still empowered by their daring leap into the self, and by their radical notions of the creative potential of the individual, the highest aspirations of art and science, the unity of nature, and the true meaning of freedom. We also still walk the same tightrope between meaningful self-fulfillment and destructive narcissism, between the rights of the individual and our responsibilities toward our community and future generations. At the heart of this inspiring book is the extremely modern tension between the dangers of selfishness and the thrilling possibilities of free will"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I ARRIVAL

1. `A happy event': Summer 1794: Goethe and Schiller

2. `I am a priest of truth': Summer 1794: Fichte's Ich-philosophy

3. `The nation's finest minds': Winter 1794

Spring 1795: Where All Paths Lead

4. `Electrified by our intellectual friction': 1795

1796: Love, Life and Literature

5. `Philosophy is originally a feeling': Summer 1796: Novalis in Love

6. `Our splendid circle': Summer

Winter 1796: The Schlegels Arrive

pt. II EXPERIMENTS

7. `Our little academy': Spring 1797: Goethe and Alexander von Humboldt

8. `Grasp, then, a handful of darkness': Summer

Winter 1797: Novalis's Death Wish

9. `Sublime impertinence': Winter 1797

Spring 1798: The Dawn of Romanticism

10. `Symphilosophy is our connection's true name': Summer 1798: A Vacation in Dresden and Schelling Arrives

pt. III CONNECTIONS

11. `To be one with everything living': Autumn 1798

Spring 1799: Schelling's Naturphilosophie

12. `Idol worshippers, atheists, liars': 1799: Scandals Part One. Fichte's Dismissal

13. `You lose yourself in a dizzy whirl': 1799: Scandals Part Two. Divorce, Women and Sex

14. `The Schlegel clique': Autumn 1799: Work and Play

15. `Solemnly calling a new confederation of minds': November 1799: A Meeting in Leutragasse

pt. IV FRAGMENTATION

16. `The republic of despots': Winter 1799

Summer 1800: Estrangements

17. `O what a black fog': Summer 1800

Spring 1801: Darkness Falls

18. `When philosophers start eating one another like starving rats': Spring 1801

Spring 1803: Separations

19. `The current exodus': 1804

1805: Jena Abandoned

20. `The French are in town!': October 1806: The Battle of Jena.

Notes:

"This is a Borzoi book"

Includes bibliographical references (pages [453]-471) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Livezey Fund bookplate.

ISBN:

9780525657118

0525657118

9781984897992

1984897993

OCLC:

1289921243