Whilst Fitzgerald plays with Fritz's elevated thinking (which touches on humorous madness at times), there was so much more to this novel than simply being an account of the early life of this renowned man of literature and philosophy.
The Blue Flower was a lot more 'readable' than I'd expected. Yet as he studies, Fritz's predisposition for thought and romanticism leads to him becoming utterly entranced with the 12 year old Sophie whom he believes to be his muse. Born into a noble, pious family, young Fritz's future has already been mapped out for him he will follow in his father's footsteps in the Salt Mines Directorate. Set in the late 1700s in Germany, The Blue Flower is a fictional account of the life of Fritz von Hardenberg, who would later become known as the romantic poet and philosopher Novalis. Recommended for literary historical fiction readers. Interesting to contrast with what was going on in France at the time. It's an interesting time period and I'd like to read more about it.
I don't know much about this era of Germany, except for the study of musicians and composers at the time, who of course were also influenced by the philosophers, poets, and writers of the day. This is a pretty brief book considering how much more Fitzgerald could have explored with these people, but I think it worked well. The book stops there, but the epilogue gives the sad story of the early deaths of most of the characters in the book. Before they marry she contracts tuberculosis and dies. Most importantly, he meets and falls in love with 12 year old Sophie von Kuhn. Also, he works in the family's salt mines.
Fritz grows up in a very large family, and Fitzgerald explores his relationships with his siblings. This book explores the early days of Novalis's (born Friedrich von Hardenberg) formation as a poet. The Blue Flower refers to an uncompleted story that the late 18th century poet, Novalis, wrote.
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