Hermann Hesse - Novels, Stories & Poems (22 books)

HERMANN HESSE (1877-1962) was a German poet, novelist, and painter. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946.

Hesse's first great novel, PETER CAMENZIND (1904), was received enthusiastically by young Germans desiring a different and more "natural" way of life at the time of great economic and technological progress in the country. DEMIAN (1919) had a strong and enduring influence on the generation of home-returners from the First World War. Similarly, THE GLASS BEAD GAME (1943, also published as MAGISTER LUDI), with its disciplined intellectual world of Castalia and the powers of mediation and humanity, captivated Germans' longing for a new order amid the chaos of a broken nation following the loss in Second World War.

In the mid-1960s, Hesse's works became huge bestsellers in the United States in part because they resonated with some of the ideas articulated in the counterculture movement. In particular, the theme of the individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality -- prominent in SIDDHARTHA (1922), JOURNEY TO THE EAST (1932), and NARCISSUS AND GOLDMUND (1930) -- struck a chord with those espousing counter-cultural ideals. The "magic theatre" sequences in STEPPENWOLF (1927) were interpreted by some as drug-induced psychedelia, although there is no evidence that Hesse ever took psychedelic drugs or recommended their use.

In the space of just a few years, Hesse became the most widely read and translated European author of the 20th century. He remains especially popular among young readers to this day.


The following books are in PDF format unless otherwise indicated:

* BENEATH THE WHEEL (Bantam, 1970). Translated by Michael Roloff.

* DEMIAN (Bantam, 1970). Translated by Michael Roloff and Michael Lebeck.

* DEMIAN (Penguin Classics, 2013). Translated by Damion Searls with a Foreword by James Franco and Introduction by Ralph Freedman. -- ePUB + MOBI

* THE FAIRY TALES OF HERMANN HESSE (Bantam, 1995). Translated with an Introduction by Jack Zipes. -- ePUB + MOBI

* GERTRUDE (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969). Translated by Hilda Rosner.

* JOURNEY TO THE EAST (Bantam, 1972). Translated by Hilda Rosner.

* KLINGSOR'S LAST SUMMER (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1970). Translated by Richard and Clara Winston.

* MAGISTER LUDI (The Bead Game) (Frederick Ungar, 1949). Translated by Mervyn Savill.

* MAGISTER LUDI (The Glass Bead Game) (Bantam, 1970). Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. -- PDF + ePUB

* NARCISSUS AND GOLDMUND (Bantam, 1971). Translated by Ursule Molinaro.

* PETER CAMENZIND (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969). Translated by Michael Roloff.

* PICTOR'S METAMORPHOSES & OTHER FANTASIES (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1982). Translated by Rika Lesser with Illustrations by the Author; edited with an Introduction by Theodore Ziolkowshi.

* POEMS (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1970). Selected and translated by James Wright.

* ROSSHALDE (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1970). Translated by Ralph Manheim.

* SIDDHARTHA: An Indian Poem (Modern Library, 2006). Translated by Susan Bernofsky with an Introduction by Tom Robbins. -- ePUB + MOBI

* SIDDHARTHA (New Directions, 1951). Translated by Hilda Rosner.

* SIDDHARTHA (Penguin, 1999). Translated by Joachim Neugroschel.

* STEPPENWOLF (Penguin, 1965). Translated by Basil Creighton, revised by Walter Sorell.

* STEPPENWOLF (Picador, 2002). Translated by Basil Creighton, revised by Joseph Mileck. --ePUB + MOBI

* STEPPENWOLF (Penguin Classics, 2012). Translated with an Afterword by David Horrocks. -- ePUB + MOBI

* STORIES OF FIVE DECADES (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1972). Edited with an Introduction by Theodore Ziolkowski. Translated by Ralph Manheim, with two stories translated by Denver Lindley.

* TALES OF STUDENT LIFE (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1976). Edited with an Introduction by Theodore Ziolkowski. Translated by Ralph Manheim.