Die Wahlverwandtschaften
The book opens with: "Words fail me." It follows the adventures of an aspiring biographer of Isaac Newton who rents a rural retreat in the south of Ireland to write an in-depth treatment of an obscure and disturbing letter Newton sent in 1693 to John Locke. He becomes involved with two women: Ottilie Garinger and her aunt, Charlotte. The presence of Charlotte's husband, Edward Lawless, creates a romantic triangle-plus-one. It has been observed that Charlotte, Ottilie and Edward are the three main characters of Goethe's 1809 novel "Elective Affinities".