The Essential Goethe is the most thorough and complete compilation of Goethe’s writings that has ever been made available in English. It makes it simpler than ever for users of the English language to access the most extensive body of work by one of the greatest authors in human history. There is a complete representation of Goethe’s work as a playwright, poet, writer, and autobiographer. The volume includes significant literary works that are infrequently published in English, such as the dramas Egmont, Iphigenia in Tauris, and Torquato Tasso, as well as the bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, a key work in the history of the novel, in addition to the works for which he is most well-known, such as Faust Part I and the lyric poems. A selection of Goethe’s essays on the humanities, philosophy, and sciences are also included in the book, providing readers with access to his unparalleled polymathic thinking. The translations, which are primarily taken from Princeton’s official twelve-volume Goethe edition, are very accessible and trustworthy contemporary versions produced by Goethe scholars. The volume’s editor, Matthew Bell, also thoroughly introduces Goethe’s life and writings.
