The Sorrows of Young Werther

Presented as a collection of confessional letters written by the eponymous protagonist, The Sorrows of Young Werther charts the emotional journey of a young man who—during a stay in a picturesque German village—falls in love with Lotte, a sweet-natured local woman engaged to another man. As he realizes that his passion is doomed to failure and constant pain, Werther contemplates taking the most drastic measures. The first great "confessional" novel, it draws both on Goethe's own unrequited love for Charlotte Buff as well as on the death of a close friend.