A pioneering study of Goethe and many of the women he was involved with, including Charlotte von Stein, Frau Aja, Christiane, Bettina, Minna Herzlieb, Marianne von Willemer, and many others. The author examines Goethe's passions as well as his religious convictions, and serves to "set forth the facts about Goethe and the women he knew rather than anybody's (even his) interpretation of the facts."