With the epistolary novel published in 1774, Goethe created the first bestseller in German literary history, which made the author instantly famous, but due to the still inadequate copyright laws, it brought him little financial gain. In a series of letters written between May 1771 and December 1772, Werther describes his unhappy love for Lotte, the daughter of a civil servant, who is already promised to the young Albert. Despite mutual affection, Werther is unable to break this societal convention. After a failed interlude at a noble court, he returns once more to Lotte, who again rejects him. Completely desperate, he borrows Albert's pistol and takes his own life on Christmas Eve.