Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship.

GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von.

Item Number: 73040

London: Oliver & Boyd, 1824.

First edition in English of Goethe’s masterpiece. Octavo, 3 volumes. Bound in contemporary half cloth over marbled boards. In near fine condition with light toning to the spine.

Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, a novel of self-realization greatly admired by the Romantics, has been called the first Bildungsroman and has had a tremendous influence on the history of the German novel. The story centers on Wilhelm, a young man living in the mid-1700s who strives to break free from the restrictive world of economics and seeks fulfillment as an actor and playwright.