Goethe was born in Frankfurt and studied law in Leipzig and Strasbourg. He practised briefly in Frankfurt. The success of The Sorrows of Young Werther brought him to Weimar in 1775, to the court of Carl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who became Grand Duke in 1815. Goethe was based there from then on and held a succession of posts, becoming the Duke’s chief adviser.