The novel is based on the life of Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772–1801) before he became famous under the name See more

In 1794 the 22 year old von Hardenberg becomes mystically attracted to the 12-year-old Sophie von Kühn, an unlikely choice for an intellectual of noble birth given Sophie's age and lack of education and culture, as … See more

Fitzgerald first came upon the notion of blue flowers having literary significance in "The Fox", a short story by D. H. Lawrence. She first became interested in Novalis in the early 1960s, after hearing a musical setting of his mysti… See more

In a 2010 introduction to the novel, Frank Kermode called it "the finest work of this extraordinarily gifted novelist". The New York Times Book Review opined that "There is no better introduction than this novel to the intellect… See more

The Blue Flower won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1997. See more