A ‘Monstrous Book’ After All? James Anthony Froude and the Reception of Goethes Die Wahlverwandtschaften in Nineteenth-Century Britain

The cross-currents between James Anthony Froudeʹs 1854 English rendering of Goetheʹs Die Wahlverwandtschaften and his rewriting of themes from Goetheʹs work in his 1849 novel The Nemesis of Faith, which fuelled the religious and political debate about the future of the Anglican Church, are the topic of this article. It explores why Froude wished to remain anonymous as a translator, argues that his decision was closely linked to the scandal-ridden public burning of his Nemesis in Oxford, and examines the far-reaching impact of the scientific ideas underlying Goetheʹs Wahlverwandtschaften in midnineteenth-century Britain.