Magnificent Rebels

The late 18th century was a period of upheaval around the world. The revolution in America concluded, but then another exploded in France in 1789. The time for radical change had arrived, and the various romantic minds who congregated in Jena, Germany, wholeheartedly endorsed it. Caroline Bohmer figured prominently in the joining of the various personalities, as her home became a center for philosophical dialogue. Bohmer was a one-time political prisoner due to her free-thinking revolutionary spirit. She married August William Schlegel, a writer and fellow romantic soul. They were partners as well as collaborators on various projects. Romantics such as Schlegel, Bohmer, and Goethe emphasized the importance of free will and how imagination was just as important as reason. During the late 18th- to early 19th century, their thoughts and ideas would spread and gain traction all over the world.

Magnificent Rebels captures the mind of the reader with its in-depth study of the eclectic and eccentric souls who formed the core Romantics in Germany. Author Andrea Wulf (The Invention of Nature) delivers a thoughtful portrayal of cerebral writers and their effect on the philosophical discourse. The tragedy of the movement’s fracturing due to human frailty forms the emotional core of the narrative.