Blue Flower The

&;An astonishing book . . . Fitzgerald&;s greatest triumph.&; &;New York Times Book Review. The Blue Flower is set in the age of Goethe in the small towns and great universities of late eighteenth-century Germany. 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. Fritz seeks his father&;s permission to wed his &;heart''s heart&; his &;spirit''s guide&;&;a plain simple child named Sophie von Khn. It is an attachment that shocks his family and friends. Their brilliant young Fritz betrothed to a twelve-year-old dullard? How can this be?. The irrationality of love the transfiguration of the commonplace the clarity of purpose that comes with knowing one&;s own fate&;these are the themes of this beguiling novel themes treated with a mix of wit grace and mischievous humor unique to the art of Penelope Fitzgerald.. &;An extraordinary imagining . . . an original masterpiece.&; &;Hermione Lee Financial Times