This is the story of Friedrich von Hardenberg--Fritz, to his intimates--a young man of the late 18th century who is destined … This is a book that is irresistible; but not seductive. I just didn't like this book. So half way through I have decided to put this aside, I may come back to it but I doubt it. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. Please try your request again later. Heartbreaking and hilarious, compassionate and severe. Penelope Fitzgerald wrote her first novel 20 years ago, at the age of 59. It has all the narrative coherence of a bolted rabbit - it weaves and staggers and seems to waver drunkenly at times; but it comes together at the end and unveils a host of absolutely charming characters, not least the future poet/philosopher, Novalis and his family of eccentric siblings. A learning experience--with laughter and tears, Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2015. The chapters are short and sweet, no explanations about life in the 16th century, yet Fitzgerald creates an intimate sense of life in German in this time and place with beautiful descriptions of landscape and domestic life and interiors. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2020. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. A little treasure; highly recommended. Set in 18th century Germany, Fitzgerald tells her imagining of the teenage story of real German poet and philosopher Fritz von Hardenberg, later called Novalis. The Blue Flower is a magical book--funny, sad, and deeply moving. Check out this great listen on Audible.com. It doesn't go to town with it's humour, but it is artfully present at all times. here re-creates him, his family, his doomed young lover Sophie von Kuhn, and Sophie's huge family--not to mention the era all of them lived in--in the most human-sized and yet intellectually capacious narrative a reader could wish for. This book will reward you with fantastic riches; a pirate galleon's worth; but you have to dig deep to find the treasure. Unable to add item to List. When I bought it, I didn’t realize it was the last novel by the Booker prize winner; published five years before her death in 2000 aged 83. A peculiar tale and probably if it occurred nowadays he's be arrested for being a pervert. A learning experience--with laughter and tears, Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2015. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2020. here re-creates him, his family, his doomed young lover Sophie von Kühn, and Sophie's huge family—not to mention the era all of them lived in—in the most human-sized … To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. She died in 2000, aged 83, one of the great writers of the twentieth century. If ever there is a book to persevere with, to have patience with, and to go back and re-read again, it is ‘The Blue Flower’ by Penelope Fitzgerald. It tells the story of the formative years of early Romantic poet Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772-1801), who would later achieve acclaim under the pen name “Novalis.”. It doesn't go to town with it's humour, but it is artfully present at all times. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. A literary sensation and a bestseller in England and the United States, The Blue Flower was one of eleven books- and the only paperback- chosen as an Editor's Choice by the New York Times Book Review. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2017. I read this book for a book club and I enjoyed it for its language, consistency and short chapters. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 18, 2017. PENELOPE FITZGERALD FOR DISCUSSION We hope the following questions,together with “Fitzgerald on Fitzgerald,”will stimulate a deeper understanding of The Blue Flowerand The Bookshop. This itself is part of here pure genius. Try. All Hello, Sign in. The Blue Flower (Paperback) By Penelope Fitzgerald. It is a fictional treatment of the early life of Friedrich von Hardenberg who, under the pseudonym Novalis, later became a practitioner of German Romanticism. Here she reconstructs the life of 18th-century German romantic poet Novalis, focusing on his boisterous family, his struggle to articulate his longings, and, most tellingly, his passion for 12-year-old Sophie, a simple child he intends to marry despite the furious reservations of family and friends. Against all precedent (Sophie isn't of the real nobility), and in keeping with the changing times (there's been the revolution in France), he gets his father's permission to become engaged--but dreadful sorrow lies just ahead. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. This is a book that is irresistible; but not seductive. Perhaps if I knew more about German romantacisn I might have got more out of the book, but a novel should stand on its own. Something went wrong. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2017. So half way through I have decided to put this aside, I may come back to it but I doubt it. But it does, because he falls in love. Cart Mariner Books, 9780395859971, 240pp. There was a problem loading your book clubs. It's not helped by needless time shifting in the narrative, nor that the core story is about a 20 year old man falling 'in love' with a 13 year old girl. It wasn't clear to me why a well educated man became infatuated with a child, not a very intelligent one at that. The Blue Flower is a 1995 novel by the British author Penelope Fitzgerald. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. This is a story of love lost. The book is rich in the details of life in those times and in the portrayal of vivid characters who play important roles in the doomed courtship of this Fritz and his beloved Sophie, who dies of consumption. Throughout, he is carried aloft by an inchoate desire for something beyond that is summed up in his little story of the blue flower: "I have no craving to be rich, but I long to see the blue flower....I can imagine and think about nothing else." 226 pp. Hello, Sign in. Alas, here I must do so. If ever there is a book to persevere with, to have patience with, and to go back and re-read again, it is ‘The Blue Flower’ by Penelope Fitzgerald. Since then, she's written eight more, three of which have been short-listed for England's prestigious Booker Prize, and one of which, Offshore, won. Seldom in these comments and reviews do I feel compelled to write with a sternly negative assessment. The blue flower— die blaue Blum e— has long been a symbol of Romantic yearning. PENELOPE FITZGERALD wrote many books small in size but enormous in popular and critical acclaim over the past two decades. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Boston: Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Company. It tells the true story of Friedrich von Hardenberg, a passionate, impetuous student of philosophy who will later gain fame as the romantic poet Novalis. Set in 18th century Germany, Fitzgerald tells her imagining of the teenage story of real German poet and philosopher Fritz von Hardenberg, later called Novalis. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The way leads inwards, always inwards' ''). Heartbreaking and hilarious, compassionate and severe. It's not helped by needless time shifting in the narrative, nor that the core story is about a 20 year old man falling 'in love' with a 13 year old girl. Fitzgerals includes so much with so little, as if she believes that less is more, which in this case is true. Penelope Fitzgerald uses fiction to examine an 18th-century German poet and his doomed love for a 12-year-old girl. This is an extraordinary book - one that was suggested by someone else in my book club - which I enjoyed exorbitantly and madly (an element of madness in one's own character is a necessary precursor to reading this book I would think). Penelope Fitzgerald wrote her first novel 20 years ago, at the age of 59. The Blue Flower, the ultimate symbol of longing. The entire book is about longing. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. For someone about to read it, it can seem a trifle intimidating. What is the meaning,in the novel and in This book is well written and life during that period appears to be well researched but the characters did not come alive for me as they did in The Beginning of Spring. Please try again. Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2018. The last novel by Penelope Fitzgerald, despite the slimness of this you will probably be surprised to know that this took her about four years to write. The Blue Flower is a culmination of the forms of craft Fitzgerald was practicing in previous novels; the fragmented perfection of Innocence, the comedy and sadness of The Beginning of Spring, the balance of density and light of The Gate of Angels. Please try again. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2018. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 18, 2017. It's not dreadful, the prose is good, but neither characters nor story engaged me. Having just finished The beginning of Spring by the same author I was really looking forward to this book as many reviewers say it is her best. The book has humor and sadness as she describes the life of its hero Fritz von Hardenberg, before he became Novalis, the late 18th century German Romantic poet. I learned more than I ever thought I even wanted to about 17-18th c. Germany. Penelope Fitzgerald, whose biography I have just written, began work on her beautiful masterpiece The Blue Flower in 1991. When I bought it, I didn’t realize it was the last novel by the Booker prize winner; published five years before her death in 2000 aged 83. And all done with remarkable economy because she was such a mistress of allusion. it is nothing like what one might expect from that genre, Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2014. The Blue Flower's elusive magic Penelope Fitzgerald’s subject is recondite, and her meaning hard to decipher – but she’s such an engaging writer … It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. ''The Blue Flower is a model of what historical fiction can be at its best - when the radical otherness of other times is not merely acknowledged but made integral to the fictional experience. And about Novalis. Since then, she's written eight more, three of which have been short-listed for England's prestigious Booker Prize, and one of which, Offshore, won. Comments of Bob Corbett March 2001. By Penelope Fitzgerald. Prime. As first I wasn't sure if I was reading fact or fiction and I suspect it was a mixture of both. From the Booker Prize-winning author of Offshore comes this unusual romance between the poet Novalis and his fiancée, Sophie, newly introduced by Candia McWilliam. A great talent. Please try your request again later. The attachment shocks his family and friends. BBC Radio 4 Extra - Penelope Fitzgerald - The Blue Flower This programme is not currently available 4 Extra Debut. I’m not sure I would have read or finished it without the book club, though. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. A glittering jewel-box of a novel. Publication Date: April 15, 1997. ISBN # 0-395-85997-2. Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2015. Now she's back with her tenth and best book so far, The Blue Flower. It's not dreadful, the prose is good, but neither characters nor story engaged me. '' This cheerful, careless, laughing child-woman becomes Fritz's star, his guide, ``his Philosophy.'' This brilliant young man, betrothed to a twelve-year-old dullard! The Blue Flower: Fitzgerald, Penelope: Amazon.sg: Books. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2016. Please try again. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. I learned more than I ever thought I even wanted to about 17-18th c. Germany. Penelope Fitzgerald wrote many books small in size but enormous in popular and critical acclaim over the past two decades. You find yourself wanting more, and the scene switches. This is an extraordinary book - one that was suggested by someone else in my book club - which I enjoyed exorbitantly and madly (an element of madness in one's own character is a necessary precursor to reading this book I would think). Taking us back to the late 18th Century we are taken into the life of a certain provincial German, Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, later to become better known to us as simply Novalis. Fitzgerald's interest in complex, tragicomic family life must stem from her own family experience; I read THE BLUE FLOWER mainly because I just read her newish biography. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2018. Since then, she's written eight more, three of which have been short-listed for England's prestigious Booker Prize, and one of which, Offshore, won. "The Gate of Angels" takes place in Oxford, the year 1912, and the work is one of comedy (as opposed to a tragedy). Cart Hello Select your address Best Sellers Today's Deals Electronics Customer Service Books New Releases Home … A peculiar tale and probably if it occurred nowadays he's be arrested for being a pervert. I think that's what I hoped to find out by reading the book but didn't as I didn't get to know the characters well enough. In 1979, her novel OFFSHORE won Britain's Booker Prize, and in 1998 she won the National Book Critics Circle Prize for THE BLUE FLOWER. Not only have Fritz's studies brought him among faculty the likes of Fichte, Schiller, and Schlegel--but he himself is already a visionary poet helping bring the 18th century to its close (`` `The universe, after all, is within us. Fitzgerald’s greatest triumph.” — New York Times Book ReviewThe Blue Flower is set in the age of Goethe, in the small towns and great universities of late eighteenth-century Germany. The last novel by Penelope Fitzgerald, despite the slimness of this you will probably be surprised to know that this took her about four years to write. Penelope Fitzgerald wrote her first novel 20 years ago, at the age of 59. Heartbreaking and hilarious, compassionate and severe. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. In eighteenth-century Germany, the impetuous student of philosophy who will later gain fame as the Romantic poet Novalis seeks his father's permission to wed his true philosophy -- a plain, simple child named Sophie. Taking us back to the late 18th Century we are taken into the life of a certain provincial German, Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, later to become better known to us as simply Novalis. It's also Fitzgerald at her best - elegant, inventive, hilarious, unsparing. Fitzgerald doesn't make it entirely clear what draws Friedrich von Hardenberg (Novalis's real name) to little Sophie?but that is precisely the point. It is laugh out loud funny at times and deeply moving at others. I preferred the other one. THE BLUE FLOWER 1. Fitzgerald's interest in complex, tragicomic family life must stem from her own family experience; I read THE BLUE FLOWER mainly because I just read her newish biography. 226 pages New York: Mariner Book, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1995. If ever there is a book to persevere with, to have patience with, and to go back and re-read again, it is ‘The Blue Flower’ by Penelope Fitzgerald. He is a young man so self-contained, so absorbed in his thoughts, that I wondered where the drama would arise. The Observer in 2012 placed her final novel, The Blue Flower, among "the ten best historical novels". We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Even though this is an historical novel, it is nothing like what one might expect from that genre. It has all the narrative coherence of a bolted rabbit - it weaves and staggers and seems to waver drunkenly at times; but it comes together at the end and unveils a host of absolutely charming characters, not least the future poet/philosopher, Novalis and his family of eccentric siblings. For someone about to read it, it can seem a trifle intimidating. Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2016. Penelope Mary Fitzgerald (17 December 1916 – 28 April 2000) was a Booker Prize–winning novelist, poet, essayist and biographer from Lincoln, England. As a counterpoint to her protagonist's beautifully captured romanticism, Fitzgerald successfully evokes the sights, sound, and smells?and the constant sorrows?of domestic life in 18th-century Germany. There's a problem loading this menu right now. The chapters are short and sweet, no explanations about life in the 16th century, yet Fitzgerald creates an intimate sense of life in German in this time and place with beautiful descriptions of landscape and domestic life and interiors. PENELOPE FITZGERALD wrote many books small in size but enormous in popular and critical acclaim over the past two decades. Something went wrong. What better tribute could be made to Novalis, perhaps the greatest poet of the German Romantic. I read this book for a book club and I enjoyed it for its language, consistency and short chapters. Please try again. As first I wasn't sure if I was reading fact or fiction and I suspect it was a mixture of both. The Blue Flower Penelope Fitzgerald, Author Mariner Books $13 (240p) ISBN 978-0-395-85997-1. Unable to add item to List. Some times the effect of it being pieced together is felt. It made me curious how Fitzgerald was able to recreate the past with such precision and such grace. PENELOPE FITZGERALD (1916–2000) was one of the most elegant and distinctive voices in British fiction. But it does, because he falls in love. I was insanely frustrated by his devotion to his twelve-year old muse, who as acknowledged, has barely any attributes that attract devotion or friendship in modern terms, but I loved the minutiae of 18th century life in Germany, and once inculcated into the book's mysteries, found it totally enticing. It made me curious how Fitzgerald was able to recreate the past with such precision and such grace. There's a problem loading this menu right now. How can it be? A beautiful new cover reissue of Penelope Fitzgerald's final masterpiece Set in Germany at the very end of the eighteenth century, The Blue Flower is the story of the brilliant Fritz von Hardenberg, a graduate of the Universities of Jena, Leipzig and Wittenberg, learned in Dialectics and Mathematics, who later became the great romantic poet and philosopher Novalis. ?Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal", The German poet Novalis (17721801) was really Friedrich Leopold von Hardenberg: and Fitzgerald (The Gates of Angels, 1992; Offshore, 1987, etc.) Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2016. Over 300,000 copies of her novels are in print, and profiles of her life appeared in both The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Now she's back with her tenth and best book so far, The Blue Flower. What transpires, then, in the inward universe, when Fritz first sees 12-year- old Sophie von Khn standing at a window looking out? Penelope Fitzgerald was obviously sailing splendidly in the wind with this book - comfortable in her position as an established and celebrated writer; aware of her own capacity for observation and passing on her many years' wisdom gently and meditatively. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. A great talent. Having just finished The beginning of Spring by the same author I was really looking forward to this book as many reviewers say it is her best. If ever there is a book to persevere with, to have patience with, and to go back and re-read again, it is ‘The Blue Flower’ by Penelope Fitzgerald. Book Critics Circle Award winner in fiction her detailed recreations of historical milieus are outstanding her! Reviews do I feel compelled to write with a sternly negative assessment it ’ s the of... Books small in size but enormous in popular and critical acclaim over the past such... One might expect from that genre, reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18... 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