Originally published during the early part of the twentieth century, the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature were designed to provide concise introductions to a broad range of topics. They were written by experts for the general reader and combined a comprehensive approach to knowledge with an emphasis on accessibility. Goethe and the Twentieth Century by J. G. Robertson was first published in 1912. In it, Robertson assesses the value and importance attached to Goethe at the beginning of the twentieth century from a strictly English perspective.