Book Series Guide

Hermann Hesse

Author guide

Hermann Hesse Books in Order

Hermann Karl Hesse (1877–1962) was a German-born Swiss writer and painter. His extensive body of work includes novels, novellas, short-story collections, poetry, travel writing, essays, memoirs, political commentary, and illustrated books. His best-known works include Peter Camenzind, Demian, Siddhartha, Der Steppenwolf, Narziß und Goldmund, and Das Glasperlenspiel. Hesse's writing frequently examines the individual's conflict with social institutions, the search for an integrated self, Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, artistic vocation, and the value of solitude and nature. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946.

novelnovellashort storiespoetryessaysmemoirtravel writingliterary criticismpolitical writinggraphic literature

Catalog record updated .

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Start with one of these

Cover of Siddhartha: Eine indische Dichtung

Siddhartha: Eine indische Dichtung

A concise, representative entry point into Hesse's spiritual and philosophical fiction.

Cover of Demian: Die Geschichte einer Jugend von Emil Sinclair

Demian: Die Geschichte einer Jugend von Emil Sinclair

A short, influential coming-of-age novel that introduces Hesse's central theme of self-discovery.

Cover of Der Steppenwolf

Der Steppenwolf

Hesse's most widely recognized modernist novel and a strong introduction to his mature work.

Cover of Peter Camenzind

Peter Camenzind

The breakthrough novel and a useful starting point for reading Hesse chronologically.

Cover of Das Glasperlenspiel

Das Glasperlenspiel

The culminating late novel and the work most closely associated with Hesse's Nobel recognition.

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Novels (18)
  1. Peter Camenzind

    novel · 1904

    Peter Camenzind by Hermann Hesse, Michael E. Roloff Peter Camenzind, a young man from a Swiss mountain village, leaves his home and eagerly takes to the road in search of new experience. Traveling through Italy and France, Camenzind is…

  2. Unterm Rad

    novel · 1906

    Enthält den Originaltext des Romans, Kommentare und Interpretationen sowie eine Einführung in Leben und Werk des deutschen Nobelpreisträgers (1877-1962).

  3. Gertrud

    novel · 1910

    Es ist die Geschichte zweier durch Anlage und Schicksal völlig verschiedener und dennoch befreundeter Künstlernaturelle, des leidgeprüften Komponisten Kuhn und des Sänger - Don Juans Heinrich Muoth, deren beider Liebe zu Gertrud ihre…

  4. Die Heimkehr

    novella · 1914

  5. In der alten Sonne

    novella · 1914

  6. Roßhalde

    novel · 1914

  7. Der Lateinschüler

    novella · 1914

  8. Knulp: Drei Geschichten aus dem Leben Knulps

    novella-collection · 1915

    First published in 1915, Knulp was Hesse's most popular book in the years before Demian. This is the first edition in English. Knulp is an amiable vagabond who wanders from town to town, staying with friends who feed and shelter him.…

  9. Schön ist die Jugend

    novella-collection · 1916

  10. Demian: Die Geschichte einer Jugend von Emil Sinclair

    novel · 1919

    A powerful new translation of Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse’s masterpiece of youthful rebellion—with a foreword and cover art by James Franco A Penguin Classic A young man awakens to selfhood and to a world of possibilities beyond the…

  11. Klingsors letzter Sommer

    novella-collection · 1920

  12. Siddhartha: Eine indische Dichtung

    novella · 1922

    Herman Hesse's classic novel has delighted, inspired, and influenced generations of readers, writers, and thinkers. In this story of a wealthy Indian Brahmin who casts off a life of privilege to seek spiritual fulfillment. Hesse…

  13. Der Steppenwolf

    novel · 1927

    A story that focuses on the loneliness and suffering of the protagonist, Harry Haller, who feels that he has no place in a world filled with meaningless frivolity. Having decided to take his own life a chance encounter causes him to…

  14. Narziß und Goldmund

    novel · 1930

  15. Die Morgenlandfahrt

    novella · 1932

    Hermann Hesses Erzählung berichtet von dem Geheimbunde der Morgenlandfahrer, der die in allen Völkern und Zeiten zerstreute Gemeinschaft der Gläubigen, der Träumer, Dichter, Phantasten darstellen soll, symbolisch in ein gleichzeitiges…

  16. Das Glasperlenspiel

    novel · 1943

    Hesse’s most highly acclaimed book, The Glass Bead Game is set in a fictional state in Central Europe in the 25th Century. The state of Castalia is the home of an austere order of intellectuals who run a group of boarding schools for boys…

  17. Berthold

    novel-fragment · 1945

  18. Der vierte Lebenslauf Josef Knechts

    novella-fragment · 1966

Nonfiction (10)
  1. Boccaccio

    biography · 1904

  2. Franz von Assisi

    biography · 1904

  3. Aus Indien

    travel-writing · 1913

  4. Wanderung

    graphic-memoir · 1920

  5. Kurgast: Aufzeichnungen von einer Badener Kur

    memoir · 1925

  6. Bilderbuch

    travel-sketches · 1926

  7. Die Nürnberger Reise

    travel-memoir · 1927

  8. Krisis

    diary · 1928

  9. Zum Gedächtnis unseres Vaters

    memoir · 1930

  10. Gedenkblätter

    memoir · 1937

Short fiction (8)
  1. Diesseits

    short-story-collection · 1907

  2. Nachbarn

    short-story-collection · 1908

  3. Umwege

    short-story-collection · 1912

  4. Am Weg

    short-story-collection · 1915

  5. Märchen

    short-story-collection · 1919

  6. Der Zyklon und andere Erzählungen

    short-story-collection · 1929

  7. Fabulierbuch

    short-story-collection · 1935

  8. Traumfährte

    short-story-collection · 1945

Essays and speeches (10)
  1. Brief ins Feld

    pamphlet · 1916

  2. Zarathustras Wiederkehr

    political-pamphlet · 1919

  3. Blick ins Chaos

    essay-collection · 1920

  4. Betrachtungen

    essay-collection · 1928

  5. Eine Bibliothek der Weltliteratur

    literary-essays · 1929

    Über das Lesen, über den Umgang mit Büchern, über die Magie des Buches hat Hesse zahlreiche Essays, Betrachtungen und Skizzen geschrieben und es stets als eine seiner Aufgaben betrachtet, Vermittler zu sein und an die Werke großer…

  6. Weg nach innen

    essay-collection · 1931

  7. Der Novalis: Aus den Papieren eines Altmodischen

    literary-essay · 1940

  8. Dank an Goethe

    essay-collection · 1946

  9. Der Europäer

    essay-collection · 1946

  10. Krieg und Frieden: Betrachtungen zu Krieg und Politik seit dem Jahr 1914

    political-essays · 1946

Poetry (11)
  1. Romantische Lieder

    poetry-collection · 1899

  2. Gedichte

    poetry-collection · 1902

  3. Unterwegs

    poetry-collection · 1911

  4. Musik des Einsamen

    poetry-collection · 1915

  5. Kleiner Garten

    poetry-collection · 1919

  6. Gedichte des Malers

    graphic-poetry · 1920

  7. Trost der Nacht

    poetry-collection · 1929

  8. Vom Baum des Lebens

    poetry-collection · 1934

  9. Stunden im Garten

    prose-poem · 1936

  10. Neue Gedichte

    poetry-collection · 1937

  11. Die späten Gedichte

    poetry-collection · 1963

Posthumous collections (3)
  1. Prosa aus dem Nachlass

    posthumous-prose-collection · 1965

  2. Die Kunst des Müßiggangs

    posthumous-prose-collection · 1973

  3. Kleine Freuden

    posthumous-prose-collection · 1977

Other (7)
  1. Eine Stunde hinter Mitternacht

    prose-collection · 1899

    This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as…

  2. Hinterlassene Schriften und Gedichte von Hermann Lauscher

    prose-collection · 1901

  3. Im Presselschen Gartenhaus

    graphic-work · 1920

  4. Piktors Verwandlungen

    graphic-tale · 1954

  5. Sinclairs Notizbuch

    prose-collection · 1923

  6. Späte Prosa

    prose-collection · 1951

  7. Beschwörungen

    prose-collection · 1955

Frequently asked questions about Hermann Hesse

Who was Hermann Hesse, and where was he from?

Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) was a German-born writer who became a Swiss citizen in 1924. He was born in Calw in the Black Forest and died in Montagnola, Switzerland.

Sources: hermann-hesse.de (opens in a new tab)ead.nb.admin.ch (opens in a new tab)

How did Hermann Hesse become a writer?

He trained as a bookseller in Tübingen and Basel and published early poems and prose. After his first major literary success in 1904, he was able to support himself as a writer.

Sources: hermann-hesse.de (opens in a new tab)nobelprize.org (opens in a new tab)

What influenced Hermann Hesse’s writing?

His writing was shaped by his pietist-Christian family background and sustained engagement with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese philosophy. The Nobel Foundation also identifies Francis of Assisi, Buddha, Nietzsche, and Dostoyevsky among his influences.

Sources: hermann-hesse.de (opens in a new tab)nobelprize.org (opens in a new tab)

What awards did Hermann Hesse receive?

Hesse received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946 for writings exemplifying classical humanitarian ideals and high qualities of style. He also received Frankfurt’s Goethe Prize in 1946 and the Peace Prize of the German Booksellers in 1955.

Sources: nobelprize.org (opens in a new tab)nobelprize.org (opens in a new tab)

Why is Hermann Hesse still important today?

His works were popular during his lifetime and remain among the most widely read works by a 20th-century German writer. The Swiss Literary Archive reports that his literary work has been translated into 60 languages.

Sources: library.ethz.ch (opens in a new tab)ead.nb.admin.ch (opens in a new tab)