Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Villette (pronounced /viːˈjɛt/) is a novel by Charlotte Brontë, published in 1853. After an unspecified family disaster, protagonist Lucy Snowe travels to the fictional city of Villette to teach at an all-girls school where she is unwillingly pulled into both adventure and romance. The novel is celebrated not so much for its plot as its acute tracing of Lucy’s psychology, particularly Brontë’s use of Gothic doubling to represent externally what her protagonist is suffering internally. (from Wikipedia)

Available @ Project Gutenberg and LibriVox

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July 11 - 11
July 812 - 21
July 1522 - 30
July 2231 - 39
July 2940 - End

Classic for May 2009

The Sorrows of Young Werther
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1774
Translated from German
149 pages (The Modern Library Classics)
Read or download for free at Project Gutenberg or ManyBooks

The Sorrows of Young Werther (Die Leiden des jungen Werther) is an epistolary and loosely autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774; a revised edition of the novel was published in 1787. Werther was an important novel of the Sturm und Drang period in German literature, and it also influenced the later Romantic literary movement.  The book made Goethe one of the first true international literary celebrities. Toward the end of his life, a personal visit to Weimar became crucial to any young man's tour of Europe. 

The Sorrows of Young Werther was Goethe's first major success, turning him from an unknown into a celebrated author practically overnight. Napoleon Bonaparte considered it one of the great works of European literature. He thought so highly of it that he wrote a soliloquy in Goethe's style in his youth and carried Werther with him on his campaigning to Egypt. It also started the phenomenon known as the "Werther-Fieber" ("Werther Fever") which caused young men throughout Europe to dress in the clothing style described for Werther in the novel.  (Wikipedia)

 

 
Discussion Schedule - The Sorrows of Young Werther
DateChapters
May 4May 4 - June 19
May 10June 21 -  September 10
May 17October 20 - December 6
May 24The Editor to the Reader