Italian Journey [1786-1788]. Translated by W. H. Auden and Elizabeth Mayer.

Penguin Books [c1985]. Soft Cover. 508, [3] p., index; 20 cm. "Goethe did not go to Italy as a journalist in search of newsworthy stories, but some of the best passages in 'Italian Journey' owe as much to journalistic good luck as they do to literary talent. While sketching a ruined fort in Malcesine he is nearly arrested as an Austrian spy; Vesuvius obliges with a major eruption during his stay in Naples; sailing back from Sicily, the boat he has taken is kind enough to get itself nearly shipwrecked on Capri; eccentric and comic characters cross his path, like the Neapolitan Princess with the outrageous tongue, the choleric Governor of Messina, or Miss Hart, the future Lady Hamilton, who seems-- God forgive her!-- to have invented the Modern Dance; a chance remark overheard leads to his meeting with the humble relatives of Cagliostro, the most famous international swindler of the time. Goethe is not usually thought of as a funny man, but his descriptions of such events reveal a real comic gift and, even more surprisingly, perhaps, they show how ready he was to see himself in a comic light." From Carlsbad to the Brenner to Verona to Venice (Sept. & Oct. 1786); Ferrara to Rome, Oct. 1786-Feb. 1787; Naples & Sicily, Feb. - June 1787; Rome, June 1787-April 1788. Color pictorial paper covers; minor wear; VG. stock#40838.