Thomas Mann's novel, Lotte in Weimar: The Beloved Returns, is a story written in the shadow of the one of the most famous German authors in history, Goethe; Thomas Mann developed the narrative almost as a response to Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, although Goethe's work is more than 150 years older than Lotte in Weimar. Lotte in Weimar was first published in English in 1940.

The Beloved Returns is the story of one of Goethe's old romantic interests, a real historical figure by the name of Charlotte Kestner, who has come to Weimar to see him again after more than 40 years of separation. Goethe had romanced Charlotte when they were young, but she had already been engaged (and then married) to another man whom she truly loved. Ultimately, the romance ended unconsummated; afterwards, Goethe wrote a fictional depiction of these events, with some artistic changes, and published it under the title The Sorrows of Young Werther -- a (still) famous/infamous German book, which started Goethe's career off with a bang. The real Charlotte became inadvertently and unwillingly famous, and remained so for the rest of her life to a certain degree.

Her return in some ways is due to her need to settle the "wrongs" done to her by Goethe in his creation of Werther; one of the underlying motifs in the story is the question of what sacrifices both a "genius" and the people around him/her must make to promote his/her creations, and whether or not Goethe (as the resident genius of Weimar) is too demanding of his supporters. Most of the novel is written as dialogues between Charlotte and the other residents of Weimar, who give their own opinions on the issue of Goethe's genius. Only in the last few chapters can the reader finally see what Goethe himself thinks of the entire affair.

"Lotte in Weimar" also echoes in subtle ways Mann's and the world's concerns with the Nazi onslaught underway at the time.