Wilhelm Meister

A masterpiece of German literature, this is the only edition in print in the English-speaking world of the complete Wilhelm Meister—both Wilhelm Meister's Years of Apprenticeship and Wilhelm Meister's Years of Travel Spring had appeared in its full magnificence—an untimely storm that had been threatening all day broke turbulently on the heights, the rain moved over the countryside, the sun came out again in its radiance, and against the grey background the splendid rainbow became visible. Wilhelm was riding towards it, and looked at it with melancholy.  Seduced by the chimerical world of the theater and taking upon himself the grand ambition of becoming a successful performer and dramatist, the merchant's son Wilhelm Meister embarks on a tumultuous quest of self-discovery. Along his path he finds himself having to negotiate love, desire, and the need to face up to his own past and responsibilities. A landmark in the history of European literature, this novel is not only one of the key works of Weimar Classicism and the prototype for the Bildungsroman genre, but also a timeless tale of coming into one's own and a fascinating portrayal of the late-18th-century theater world.