Books by Nicholas Boyle
“Boyle shows us the private Goethe – the lover who lived for many years with the woman who would only much later become his wife or the loving father who went ice skating with his son. Boyle takes Goethe down from his pedestal. At the same time, there are long sections where he analyses Goethe’s work. So the reader also receives lessons in literature. I think Boyle’s biography is a perfect example of how you can put these things together. But, saying that, it’s not a book to flip through.” Read more...
The Best Biographies of 18th-Century Figures
Andrea Wulf, Historian
“I put it on my list because, first of all, it’s an incredible achievement. If you want to understand Goethe, this is the book to go back to again and again. I also choose it because Goethe was a fascinating man. He is one of the greatest poets, but he was also a scientist. He lived a very long and full life. He was a privy councillor in the state of Saxe-Weimar. He ran the theatre, he was in charge of the mines and he met a great many interesting people. So you have politics, you have science, you have theatre, you have literature, you have geology, you have 18th century society.” Read more...
The Best Biographies of 18th-Century Figures
Andrea Wulf, Historian
Interviews where books by Nicholas Boyle were recommended
The Best Biographies of 18th-Century Figures, recommended by Andrea Wulf
A great biography should be a readable and deeply-researched story of a person whose life and times can teach us something of our own, explains Andrea Wulf—author of a highly anticipated new biography of the explorer George Forster. Here, she recommends five biographies about 18th-century figures, including a landmark account of the life of Goethe and a Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential biography.
