a) It is not as easy to estimate the influence of German literature on English as it is French, because it didn’t begin to have any measureable impact until quite recent times. That is, not much before the Romantic Movement.

b) It was perhaps the “storm and stress” movement of the late 18th century that had the first and most widespread effect on the rest of Europe, and chief among those who were affiliated with this movement was Goethe.

c) Goethe was a polymath, a man whose interests ranged across the whole spectrum of human knowledge. As well as writing enduring plays and fiction, he was involved in politics, and made important contributions to scientific thought.

d) It was the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther that had the greatest impact, which, despite upsetting many people, was the first German novel to gain recognition throughout Europe and was translated into many languages.

a) By 1817, trousers were shoe-length. Popular with the king, they became accepted as standard daywear by 1825, and were worn with a waistcoat and, by day, a frock coat, but with a tailcoat in the evening.

b) Jackets didn’t become fashionable for casual wear until the 1850s. The jacket was derived from the short jacket worn by boys and working men, and in the age of mass-production and ready-made suits, its simple style was easier to produce than the tailored coat.

c) It was George “Beau” Brummell, the champion of simple English style, who started a trend for wearing tight black trousers in the early 1800s.

d) The favorite patterns for trousers were strong plaids, stripes and checks. The loose straight cut came in about the 1860s, and front creases in the 1880s. By the turn of the century, they had become the common way to dress.