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Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)

Author of Siddhartha

914+ Works 83,505 Members 1,135 Reviews 453 Favorited

About the Author

Hermann Hesse (July 2, 1877 -- August 9, 1962) was a German poet, novelist, essayist and painter. His best-known works included Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the show more Nobel Prize in Literature. Hess publicly announced his views on the savagery of World War I, and was considered a traitor. He moved to Switzerland where he eventually became a naturalized citizen. He warned of the advent of World War II, predicting that cultureless efficiency would destroy the modern world. His theme was usually the conflict between the elements of a person's dual nature and the problem of spiritual loneliness. His first novel, Peter Camenzind, was published in 1904. His masterpiece, Death and the Lover (1930), contrasts a scholarly abbot and his beloved pupil, who leaves the monastery for the adventurous world. Steppenwolf (1927), a European bestseller, was published when defeated Germany had begun to plan for another war. It is the story of Haller, who recognizes in himself the blend of the human and wolfish traits of the completely sterile scholarly project. During the 1960s Hesse became a favorite writer of the counter culture, especially in the United States, though his critical reputation has never equaled his popularity. Hermann Hesse died in 1962. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Courtesy of the Dutch National Archives

Series

Works by Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha (1945) 27,966 copies
Steppenwolf (1927) 13,612 copies
Demian (1958) 7,395 copies
The Glass Bead Game (1943) 6,910 copies
Narcissus and Goldmund (1930) 6,383 copies
Beneath the Wheel (1968) 2,783 copies
The Journey to the East (1956) 2,263 copies
Peter Camenzind (1904) 1,385 copies
Rosshalde (1914) 1,038 copies
Gertrude (1910) 1,033 copies
Knulp (1915) — Author — 844 copies
Klingsor's Last Summer (1919) — Author — 793 copies
The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse (1918) — Author — 782 copies
Poems (1970) 515 copies
If the War Goes on: Reflections on War and Politics (1946) — Author — 390 copies
Reflections (1971) 355 copies
Stories of Five Decades (1972) 315 copies
La cura (1924) 276 copies
Autobiographical Writings (1972) — Author — 182 copies
Una biblioteca della letteratura universale (1978) — Author — 137 copies
Francesco d'Assisi (1988) — Author — 135 copies
Sull'amore (1986) 124 copies
Die Märchen (1975) — Author — 110 copies
Amicizia (1982) 108 copies
Le stagioni della vita (1986) — Author — 106 copies
Hermann Lauscher (1901) 105 copies
Klein and Wagner (1958) — Author — 100 copies
De liefdesverhalen (1995) 98 copies
Eloge de la vieillesse (1901) — Author — 95 copies
Sprookjes (1964) 91 copies
Viaggio in India (1975) 87 copies
Leggende e fiabe (1975) 86 copies
Schön ist die Jugend (1971) — Author — 81 copies
Pictor's Metamorphoses (1975) — Author — 81 copies
Enfance d'un magicien (1923) — Author — 77 copies
Zinnig eigenzinnig (1972) 73 copies
Romanzi (1979) 65 copies
Bäume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte. (1984) — Author — 65 copies
Il coraggio di ogni giorno (1972) 65 copies
Leyendas medievales (1976) 58 copies
Die Nürnberger Reise (1927) — Author — 53 copies
Demian / Siddhartha (1998) — Author — 52 copies
Tales of Student Life (1976) 49 copies
Rastro de un sueño (1976) — Author — 47 copies
Contes merveilleux (1993) 46 copies
Cuentos, 1 (1978) 45 copies
A Child's Heart (1918) — Author — 45 copies
Il miglioratore del mondo (1993) — Author — 45 copies
Amore (1996) 43 copies
In the Old Sun (1953) — Author — 43 copies
The Glass Bead Game, Vol. 1 (1971) — Author — 37 copies
Treatise on the Steppenwolf (1969) 32 copies
Siddhartha / Steppenwolf (1961) — Author — 32 copies
Racconti (1982) 31 copies
Poesie d'amore (1989) 31 copies
Meistererzählungen (1965) 30 copies
The Glass Bead Game, Vol. 2 (1973) — Author — 30 copies
Fabuleuze vertellingen (1977) 30 copies
Vom Baum des Lebens (1934) 30 copies
Een voetreis in de herfst (1954) — Author — 29 copies
De kleine wereld (1975) — Author — 29 copies
In de tuin (1992) 28 copies
Demian / The Journey to the East (1972) — Author — 27 copies
Die schönsten Erzählungen (2002) 26 copies
Trees (2022) 25 copies
Religione e mito (1986) 25 copies
Romans et Nouvelles (1993) 24 copies
Hymn to Old Age (2011) 21 copies
Il bicchiere scrivente (1957) 21 copies
Correspondencia (1977) 21 copies
Das erste Abenteuer (1975) 21 copies
Boccaccio (1995) 20 copies
Lettre à un jeune artiste (1997) 20 copies
Beneath the Wheel / Gertrude / Rosshalde / Demian (1988) — Author — 20 copies
Peter Camenzind / Beneath the Wheel (1952) — Author — 20 copies
Peter Camenzind / Demian (1993) — Author — 19 copies
Weg nach Innen (1932) 19 copies
Un' ora dopo mezzanotte (1984) 17 copies
Felicidade (Portuguese) (1967) 17 copies
La ruta interior (1976) 16 copies
Die Stadt (1945) 16 copies
Berthold (1985) 16 copies
Alma infantil Mes de julio (1995) 16 copies
Cuentos 3 (Spanish Edition) (1997) 15 copies
Ensueños (1980) 15 copies
Gesammelte Werke. (1987) 15 copies
Die Heimkehr (1985) 15 copies
Cuentos 2 (Spanish Edition) (1989) 15 copies
Aforismi (1993) 15 copies
Die späten Gedichte (1963) 13 copies
Demian / Wandering (1988) — Author — 13 copies
Le poète chinois (1984) 13 copies
Cuentos 4 (1996) — Author — 13 copies
Noche de junio: cuentos (2000) 12 copies
Späte Prosa (1963) 12 copies
La conversion de Casanova (1986) 12 copies
Mon enfance (1995) 12 copies
Giorni di luglio (1990) 12 copies
Obras completas (1901) 12 copies
Sull'anima (1996) 11 copies
Description d'un paysage (1990) 11 copies
Musik des Einsamen (1932) 11 copies
Ladidel (1985) 10 copies
Romanzi e racconti (1993) 10 copies
Italien (1983) 10 copies
Relatos (1976) 9 copies
Narciso e Boccadoro ; Il lupo della steppa (2006) — Author — 9 copies
Peter Camenzind-Gertrud Rosshalde-Demian (1988) — Author — 9 copies
Genclik Guzel Sey (2012) 9 copies
Gesammelte Werke. Bd. 3. Gertrud - Kleine Welt. (1970) — Author — 9 copies
Gedenkblätter (1950) 8 copies
Nella terra di Siddharta (1995) 8 copies
52 poesie 8 copies
Cartas escogidas (1982) 8 copies
Dank an Goethe (1975) 8 copies
Racconti brevi (1991) 8 copies
Emil Kolb (1985) — Author — 8 copies
Scritti autobiografici (1980) 8 copies
Huilunsoittaja (1977) 7 copies
Der Zyklon (1988) 7 copies
La Leyenda Del Rey Indio (2000) 7 copies
Jahreszeiten. Großdruck. (1993) 7 copies
Drei Erzählungen (1950) 7 copies
Escrito en la arena (1977) 7 copies
Relatos esenciales (2003) 7 copies
Souvenirs d'un Européen (1994) 7 copies
Musique (1997) 6 copies
Fiabe (1982) 6 copies
Am Weg (1916) 6 copies
Gesammelte Schriften (1987) 6 copies
Storie di vagabondaggio (2007) 6 copies
NOUS CONTES D AMOR (2001) 6 copies
Steppenwolf / Demian / Peter Camenzind (1955) — Author — 6 copies
Bericht aus Normalien (1986) 6 copies
La natura ci parla (1990) 6 copies
Les Frères du Soleil (1986) 5 copies
Gesammelte Werke. Bd. 2. Unterm Rad - Diesseits. (1970) — Author — 5 copies
Kertomuksia (1994) — Author — 5 copies
Worte des Zauberers (1987) — Author — 5 copies
Hermann Lauscher ; Viaje al Oriente (1983) — Author — 5 copies
Der verbannte Ehemann (1977) 5 copies
Italië reisimpressies (2001) 5 copies
Traumgeschenk (1996) 5 copies
Knulp Kurgast (1974) — Author — 5 copies
Die blaue Ferne (1989) 5 copies
As mais belas histórias (2008) 5 copies
Las estaciones (1999) 5 copies
POEMAS (2002) 5 copies
Избранное (2001) 4 copies
Poèmes choisis (1999) 4 copies
Rosshalde: Peter Camenzind (1991) — Author — 4 copies
False vocazioni 4 copies
Racconti Indiani (1900) 4 copies
Altri romanzi e poesie (1991) 4 copies
Demian / Klingsor / Siddhartha (2000) — Author — 4 copies
Leggende e racconti (1991) 4 copies
Vogel, Großdruck (2000) — Author — 4 copies
Gesammelte Werke. Bd. 7. Kurgast — Author — 4 copies
Dal Paese Di Siddharta (1993) 4 copies
Knulp / Demian (2006) 4 copies
Λούλου (1988) 4 copies
Fairy Tales (2016) 4 copies
Camminare (2015) 3 copies
Els contes més bells (2003) 3 copies
Het geluk van de liefde (2005) 3 copies
Ausgewählte Werke (2018) 3 copies
Hermann Hesse 3 copies
Siddharatha (2012) 3 copies
Contes (2015) 3 copies
Der Dichter, 1 Cassette (1998) 3 copies
Politische Betrachtungen (2002) 3 copies
Cuentos Selectos (2013) 3 copies
Siddharta: Il pellegrinaggio in Oriente (1900) — Author — 3 copies
Lebenszeiten (1994) 3 copies
Erzählungen. Band 1 (1970) 3 copies
Lettres 1900-1962 (1994) 3 copies
Sinclairs Notizbuch (2001) 3 copies
Pohádky (2004) 3 copies
Pod koly ; Tento svět (1997) 3 copies
Korespondecja (2006) 2 copies
Le métier d'écrivain (2021) 2 copies
Schriften zur Literatur (1970) 2 copies
Betrachtungen 2 copies
Uren in de tuin (1997) 2 copies
Rosshalde. Knulp. Demian. Siddhartha: Bd. 3 (2001) — Author — 2 copies
De mooiste verhalen (2005) 2 copies
Siddharta - eine indische Dichtung. Rosshalde (1980) — Author — 2 copies
Αναγνωστικό (1994) 2 copies
KLAASPLIMG 2 copies
Kaplicada Bir Konuk (2015) 2 copies
Augustus 2 copies
Erzählungen 2 copies
2002 2 copies
Frühe Prosa (1960) 2 copies
Knulp Cuentos (1917-1937) (1988) 2 copies
Meruhyen (1990) 2 copies
Obras Completas (v. IV) (1901) 2 copies
Briefe 2 copies
Faldum 2 copies
Najljepše pripovijetke (2003) 2 copies
Prosa aus dem Nachlass (1965) 2 copies
Opere 2 copies
U Žrvnju (2011) 2 copies
Erzählungen, Band 2, (1979) 2 copies
Unerschrocken denken (2008) 2 copies
Bilderbuch Schilderungen — Author — 2 copies
Zwei Idyllen (1952) 2 copies
Glück. Großdruck (2000) 2 copies
Mägede poeg 2 copies
Contos sublimes 2 copies
Breviario per l'estate (1992) 2 copies
Kartki ze wspomnień (2003) 2 copies
Księga obrazów (2005) 2 copies
La ciudad (1985) 1 copy
Bernhard Zeller (2022) 1 copy
Die Erzählungen (1973) 1 copy
Pod kolesom 1 copy
Sidra 1 copy
Maca és la joventut (1901) 1 copy
PELKO 1 copy
DRÖMFÄRDER 1 copy
Ausgewählte Werke (2015) 1 copy
Siddhartha Part One (1957) 1 copy
The Jackdaw 1 copy
King Yu 1 copy
The Painter 1 copy
The Merman 1 copy
Suhrkamp 1 copy
52 Poesie 1 copy
Siddhartha 1 copy
Liebes Herz! 1 copy
Short Stories — Author — 1 copy
DEMIANI 1 copy
NEN RROTE 1 copy
SİDARTA 1 copy
Orniere (l') (1998) 1 copy
knulp 1 copy
El Balneario 1 copy
Hörwerke (2006) 1 copy
Hermann Hesse (1977) 1 copy
Weihnachten (2007) 1 copy
Erwin 1 copy
Narrativas 1 copy
Volare 1 copy
Kulkija (2010) 1 copy
Chakke Tale 1 copy
Küçük dünyalar (1998) 1 copy
Hesse Quergelesen (2019) 1 copy
La ville 1 copy
Pod kołami 1 copy
The Night Peacock (2021) 1 copy
Siddharta y cuentos (2005) 1 copy
Moja vjera (2001) 1 copy
Geheimnis der Seele (1998) 1 copy
젊은날의 초상 (2008) 1 copy
Die Gedichte: Bd. 10 (2001) 1 copy
Ricordo di Hans (1937) 1 copy
Voyages en Italie (1992) 1 copy
1961 1 copy
Domotužje : pjesme (1994) 1 copy
1994 1 copy
2003 1 copy
2005 1 copy
1975 1 copy
1970 1 copy
Nuvele 1 copy

Associated Works

Black Water: The Book of Fantastic Literature (1983) — Contributor — 506 copies
A World of Great Stories (1947) 263 copies
The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (2019) — Contributor — 170 copies
Deutsche Gedichte (1956) — Contributor, some editions — 136 copies
Poems (1961) — Translator — 126 copies
German Stories and Tales (1954) — Contributor — 100 copies
German stories. Deutsche Novellen (1961) — Contributor — 96 copies
Great Stories by Nobel Prize Winners (1959) — Contributor — 77 copies
Italie reisverhalen (2001) — Contributor — 18 copies
The Analog Sea Review: Number Two (2019) — Contributor — 18 copies
Voor het einde 33 Duitse verhalen uit de jaren 1900-1933 (1977) — Contributor — 13 copies
Four last songs [miniature score] (1959) — Words — 13 copies
Trees: A Celebration (1989) — Contributor — 13 copies
Tyskland forteller : tyske noveller (1972) — Contributor — 12 copies
Erzähler des S. Fischer Verlages 1886-1978 (2018) — Author — 9 copies
Steppenwolf [1974 film] — Original novel — 8 copies
Falterschönheit: Exotische Schmetterlinge in Farbigen Naturaufnahmen (1935) — Foreword, some editions — 6 copies
Deutsche Erzählungen III. Deutsch - Englisch. (1988) — Contributor — 6 copies
Blume und Flamme : Geschichte einer Jugend (1990) — Introduction, some editions — 2 copies
Maulbronner Impressionen — Text from estate — 1 copy
Introduction to Fiction (1974) — Contributor — 1 copy
Am Borne deutscher Dichtung (1927) — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

1001 (172) 1001 books (182) 20th century (786) anthology (243) Buddha (209) Buddhism (1,128) classic (802) classics (894) existentialism (267) fairy tales (229) fantasy (244) fiction (7,527) German (1,771) German fiction (374) German literature (2,598) Germany (826) goodreads (157) Hermann Hesse (386) Hesse (561) historical fiction (201) India (378) literature (2,253) narrativa (317) Nobel (250) Nobel Laureate (159) Nobel Prize (522) novel (1,495) Novela (235) own (236) paperback (182) philosophy (1,525) poetry (375) read (768) religion (796) Roman (479) short stories (473) spirituality (578) to-read (2,633) translation (443) unread (369)

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Hesse, Hermann Karl
Birthdate
1877-07-02
Date of death
1962-08-09
Burial location
Cimitero di San Abbondio, Montagnola, Ticino, Switzerland
Gender
male
Nationality
Germany
Switzerland (naturalised 1923)
Country (for map)
Switzerland
Birthplace
Calw, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire
Place of death
Montagnola, Ticino, Switzerland
Places of residence
Montagnola, Ticino, Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland
Gaienhofen, Lake Constance, Germany
Basel, Switzerland
Calw, German Empire
Education
Evangelical Theological Seminary, Maulbronn Abbey, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Gymnasium, Cannstatt, Germany
Occupations
novelist
short story writer
essayist
poet
Awards and honors
Bauernfeld-Preis (1906)
Mejstrik-Preis of the Schiller Foundation in Vienna (1928)
Gottfried Keller Preis (1936)
Goethe Prize (1946)
Nobel Prize in Literature (1946)
Honorary Doctorate from The University of Bern (1947) (show all 9)
Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize (1950)
Pour le Mérite (1954)
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (1955)
Short biography
Hermann Karl Hesse; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Hermann Karl Hesse was born on 2 July 1877 in the Black Forest town of Calw in Württemberg, German Empire. His grandparents served in India at a mission under the auspices of the Basel Mission, a Protestant Christian missionary society. His grandfather Hermann Gundert compiled the current grammar in Malayalam language, compiled a Malayalam-English dictionary, and also contributed to the work in translating the Bible to Malayalam. Hesse's mother, Marie Gundert, was born at such a mission in India in 1842. In describing her own childhood, she said, "A happy child I was not..." As was usual among missionaries at the time, she was left behind in Europe at the age of four when her parents returned to India.

Members

Discussions

Fine editions of Hesse or Hašek? in Fine Press Forum (October 2022)
1914 Hermann Hesse, Rosshalde in Literary Centennials (September 2014)
English Boy Thinks He Finds Eden in Name that Book (January 2012)

Reviews

Here's wrote about this read in 2014: "Well, this is my second read of Hesse. Sure does pack a punch. Strikes me as a lot about what is the point of it all, humor and joy are only ways to get through this messiness called life, and we're homesick, aren't we, for the afterlife. Fasinating the legacy into the 60's, the band, the theater, etc." Quotations in the comments section are my exact kindle highlights.
 
Flagged
MGADMJK | 194 other reviews | May 29, 2024 |
This is a tough one to review. Hesse is an absolutely amazing writer and as the novel unfolded I was fully onboard and thinking, wow, a 5 at last. Alas, this did not hold, as the drug trip within a book within a book drifted into metaphysics and a messed up glob of a story, and a terrible ending. The writing remained extremely good, but I’m just not interested in such pointless expenditure of my mind. It dropped from a 5 to a 4 to a 3 towards the end. I'd say a 3.5, but I rounded up. So sad after such an excellent beginning.… (more)
 
Flagged
diveteamzissou | 194 other reviews | May 6, 2024 |
This is the kind of book that makes it difficult to return to more common fare.
 
Flagged
TraSea | 380 other reviews | Apr 29, 2024 |
Also, ich weiß nicht...
Die Sprache ist zauberhaft, die Lesung hervorragend.
Die Story...?!? Ich finde Goldmund egozentrisch und frauenverachtend...
 
Flagged
Katzenkindliest | 78 other reviews | Apr 23, 2024 |

Lists

1920s (2)
Read (1)
1930s (2)
1910s (1)
AP Lit (1)

Awards

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Associated Authors

Ralph Manheim Translator
Thomas Mann Introduction
James Wright Translator
Denver Lindley Translator
Volker Michels Editor, Afterword
Peter Dorn Illustrator
Justinus Kerner Contributor
Heinrich Heine Contributor
Novalis Contributor
Nikolaus Lenau Contributor
Ludwig Tieck Contributor
Achim von Arnim Contributor
Ludwig Uhland Contributor
Eduard Mörike Contributor
Friedrich Schlegel Contributor
Clemens Brentano Contributor
Tom Lovell Illustrator
Niklaus Stoecklin Illustrator
Stanley Meltzoff Illustrator
Richard Zoozmann Translator
Darrell Sweet Illustrator
Silvija Brice Translator
Hilda Rosner Translator
Keith Cunningham Cover designer
Ervino Pocar Translator, Contributor
Rika Lesser Translator
Jack Zipes Introduction, Translator
Paulo Coelho Introduction
Massimo Mila Translator
Nick Pearson Cover designer
Susan Bernofsky Translator
Pico Iyer Foreword
Firdous Bamji Narrator
Paul W. Morris Introduction
Nils Holmberg Translator
Alvin Lustig Cover designer
Xuan Loc Xuan Cover artist
Kai Kaila Translator
Pé Hawinkels Translator
Theodore Ziolkowski Foreword, Editor & Introduction, Editor
Michael Roloff Translator
Willy Fleckhaus Cover designer
Richard Winston Translator
Clara Winston Translator
L. Coutinho Translator
Jaroslav Bradac Illustrator
David Horrocks Translator
Kurt Beals Translator
Kamuran Şipal Translator
Peter Verstegen Translator
Basil Creighton Translator
Maurits Dekker Translator
Peter Magnus Translator
M. Coutinho Translator
Karin Bang Translator
Māris Sīmansons Cover designer
Michael Lebeck Translator
Elvi Sinervo Translator
Tine Ausma Translator
Leila Vennewitz Translator
Dzintars Sodums Translator
Martin Ros Afterword
Ursula Molinaro Translator
Geoffrey Dunlop Translator
W. J. Strachan Translator
Herb Johnson Cover designer
Tony Wheeler Foreword
C. Sanroma Cover artist
Víctor Scholz Translator
Eino Railo Translator
Esther Berenguer Translator
Milton Glaser Cover designer
Ester Berenguer Translator
Alan Tunbridge Cover designer
Justin Todd Cover artist
Kristaps Butlers Cover designer
Fritz Wagner Contributor
Ariel Magnus Translator
Hans Bender Afterword
Peter Weiss Translator
Herminia Dauer Translator
Ingrid Fry Editor
Mariano S. Luque Translator
Andy Warholl Cover artist
Thomas Graftdijk Translator
Aleid Swierenga Translator
Walter Schmögner Illustrator
Gunter Böhmer Illustrator
Christian Strich Contributor
Alfred Krans Translator
Ludwig Richter Illustrator
Maria Nils Afterword
Anna Keel Cover artist

Statistics

Works
914
Also by
40
Members
83,505
Popularity
#139
Rating
3.9
Reviews
1,135
ISBNs
3,069
Languages
48
Favorited
453

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