The Blue Flower

By: Penelope Fitzgerald

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

The Blue Flower is set in the age of Goethe, in the small towns and great universities of late 18th-century Germany. It tells the true story of Friedrich von Hardenberg, a passionate, impetuous student of philosophy who will later gain fame as the romantic poet Novalis. Fritz seeks his father's permission to wed his "heart's heart," his "spirit's guide" - a plain, simple child named Sophievon Kühn. It is an attachment that shocks his family and friends. Their brilliant young Fritz, betrothed to a twelve-year-old dullard? How can this be?

Their rationality of love, the transfiguration of the commonplace, the clarity of purpose that comes with knowing one's own fate - these are the themes of this beguiling novel, themes treated with a mix of wit, grace, and mischievous humor.

©2015 Penelope Fitzgerald (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Interesting Characters

I might have better enjoyed reading rather than listening. The narrator was terrific. But the constant barrage of complicated names distracted me. I couldn’t easily remember the names of some of the less frequent characters. I’d lose my focus of the story.