Hermann Hesse

A brilliant psychological portrait of a troubled young man's quest for self-awareness, this coming-of-age novel achieved instant critical and popular acclaim upon its 1919 publication. A landmark in the history of 20th-century literature, it reflects the author's preoccupation with the duality of human nature and the pursuit of spiritual fulfillment.

Originally published in 1919 under the pseudonym of the narrator of the story, Herman Hesse's "Demian" is the coming of age story of its principal character "Emil Sinclair." The struggle of Emil is one of self-awareness. A principal theme that courses throughout the novel is that of the inherent duality of existence. In the case of Emil this duality presents itself in the form of the opposing demands of the external world and his one internal quest...

Throughout his life, Herman Hesse was a devoted letter writer. He corresponded, not just with friends and family, but also with his readers. From his letters home from the seminary at age fourteen, to his last letters, written days before his death at eighty-five, this selection gives a sense of the author of some of the most widely read books of the century.

This collection of poems, written during the same period as Steppenwolf, was first published in 1928 in a limited edition of 1,000 copies. Hesse's uneasiness about the degree of self-exposure in these quite untypical poems is evident in that the majority (and many of the best) were never reprinted during his lifetime. Astonishingly frank and raw at times, they reflect his effort to balance the constraints of his intellectual life with his longing...

Hans Giebernath lives among the dull and respectable townsfolk of a sleepy Black Forest village. When he is discovered to be an exceptionally gifted student, the entire community presses him onto a path of serious scholarship. Hans dutifully follows the regimen of study and endless examinations, his success rewarded only with more crushing assignments. When Hans befriends a rebellious young poet, he begins to imagine other possibilities outside the...

Hermann Hesse: A Pictorial Biography offers a wealth of unknown photographic and textual material, which was first discovered among Hesse's literary effects after his death. Over 200 photographs chronicle his family background, his school and apprentice years, his first literary efforts and initial successes, his travels to India and throughout Europe, his continuing growth as a writer. These photographs, apart from illustrating Hesse's long and varied...

Demian: Die Geschichte von Emil Sinclairs Jugend Hermann Hesse - Wie alle Hauptwerke Hermann Hesses hat auch der Demian, den der damals 40jährige Autor mitten im Ersten Weltkrieg schrieb, eine ebenso ungewöhnliche wie spannende Entstehungs- und Wirkungsgeschichte. Daß dieses im Herbst 1917 vollendete Buch erst im Juni 1919, ein halbes Jahr nach Kriegsende, veröffentlicht wurde, lag an der Unbekanntheit des Verfassers. Denn Hesse hatte das Manuskript...

In 1919, the same year Demian was published, seven of these stories appeared as a book entitled Märchen-literally, Fairy Tales. For this first edition in English, we have followed the arrangement Hesse made for the final collected edition of his works, where he added an eighth story, "Flute Dream." The new note so clear in Demian was first sounded, Hesse believed, in some of these tales written during the years 1913 to 1918, the period that brought...

La correspondencia de Hermann Hesse con Stefan Zweig se extendió por un periodo de treinta y cinco años, a pesar de las reservas del primero a tratar con escritores, hasta la muerte de este último en 1942. A través de estas cartas, el lector asistirá a la construcción de un pensamiento común entre estos dos grandes autores, comprometidos con la inequívoca defensa de la razón, del bien y de la humanidad en una época turbulenta, confirmando...