The Sorrows of Young Werther (Penguin Classics)

You only find true love once.

When Werther dances with the beautiful Lotte, it seems as though he is in paradise. It is a joy, however, that can only ever be short-lived. Engaged to another man, she tolerates Werther's adoration and encourages his friendship. She can never return his love.

Broken-hearted, he leaves her home in the country, trying to escape his own desire. But when he receives a letter telling him that she is finally married, his passion soon turns to destructive obsession.

And as his life falls apart, Werther is haunted by one certainty:

He has lost his reason for living.