On Tangled Paths

By Theodor Fontane

Book Overview

A moving love story and a vivid depiction of Berlin in the 1870s, from Germany's greatest nineteenth-century novelist Theodor Fontane In this classic novel--one of the pillars of German literature--Lene, a beautiful, orphaned young seamstress, falls in love with Botho, a handsome, aristocratic cavalry officer. They know they have only a short time together, as society deems their relationship inappropriate and refuses to take their love seriously. But while Botho seems to have a glittering life ahead of him, his love may be his undoing. First published in 1887, this taut, flawless masterpiece caused a scandal with its portrayal of a sexual affair across the classes. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0141392177
• ISBN13: 9780141392172
• Release Date: September 2013
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

a very great, very quiet novel

Fontane reminds me of Chekhov in that he shows, on the surface, the indifferent passage of time, and also, resisting it, human wishes and desires trying to strike out on their own. Here, Botho, an impoverished young nobleman, is having an affair with Lene, a young working-class woman. So far, typical for the time depicted. The problem is that the two of them love each other, and it is this love, as it fights or adapts to the currents of their lives, that transforms them and the novel.