Schneider's novel follows the young Goethe arriving in Weimar in 1775 at the invitation of Duke Karl August. It captures the peculiar atmosphere of a tiny German court town becoming, almost by accident, the intellectual centre of Europe. The social dynamics between the ambitious young poet and the provincial aristocracy are rendered with dry precision.
The book works as both historical fiction and a portrait of creative ambition. Walking through the Altstadt after reading it, you understand how small the stage was on which Goethe, Schiller, Herder, and Wieland performed their extraordinary act.