Christiane von Goethe

The year is 1788 in Weimar, Germany; Christiane Vulpius is 23 years old. Times are tough financially for Christiane and her family, so she goes to state minister Johann Wolfgang von Goethe seeking help. Although Christiane is illiterate, her brother Christian is a budding writer who has recently published a dictionary of sorts titled the Glossarium for the Eighteenth Century in which he “describes how he sees life in their duchy” by going through every letter of the alphabet. Christiane visits Goethe on her brother’s behalf, carrying with her a petition for financial support. Goethe is an established writer at this point, freed from most of his duties as state minister so he can focus on his work. When Goethe sees Christiane, he is taken by her “natural, childlike appearance and folk songlike nature.” Goethe does not think highly of Christiane’s brother, nor would he ordinarily think highly of her, as she is someone at the very “bottom of society.” Yet he finds himself smitten. Goethe not only helps Christiane, he also begins a relationship with her that will ultimately lead to marriage. But as a “loathed commoner,” things are never easy for Christiane amongst Weimar high society. When the Napoleonic wars come around, things only become more difficult: In 1806, Weimar is “smoking in acid flames.” Her life as “Goethe’s housekeeper and wife” (as she is insultingly referred to) is only part of the story; in 2016, she returns from “the earth’s museum of bones” to see the world anew thanks to a guide who goes by the name Phoenix Neumann.

The novel tackles some compelling figures in a fascinating, eventful time period. The average English language reader has probably at least heard of Goethe, but many may not know much about his personal life, which was full of drama. Even before Christiane hit the scene, Goethe’s secretary Philipp Seidel seemed to have been more than a mere employee to the literary giant—in a letter from Seidel to a friend, he claimed their relationship was something akin to that of a husband and wife. (Seidel is quoted as writing, “That’s how I love him and he loves me, that’s how I serve him, that much supremacy he exercises over me.”) Throughout the novel, such historical material is woven into the narrative’s events. Sometimes the lack of such supporting material tells its own story: All that Goethe recorded in his diary about his wedding day was “Trauung (marriage).” As for the bride, “nothing is known of Christiane’s feelings” about the event. When the story shifts to modern times, Christiane experiences some expected confusion, such as when she tries to understand the World Wide Web or what Blinkist is; in these sections, the reader learns more about how both Goethe and Christiane have been remembered. The details are often compelling (like the fact that Christiane’s grave was unmarked for many years), but the prose can be a bit clunky; when Christiane sees the Goethe department store, she exclaims, “look at this big building.” Nevertheless, the work is much deeper than a dutiful re-creation of a famous author’s once-scandalous relationship.