Richard Helt

Hermann Hesse "arrived" as a literary figure in the German-speaking world.
However, relatively little is known about the years immediately preceding this
breakthrough. Through a great deal of "detective" work the author has succeeded
in personally locating dozens of Hesse's previously unknown letters and
manuscripts. These have been skilfully interwoven in this book along with
a lively and most readable account of this crucial phase of Hesse's life from
ca. 1899 to 1903.


During this period Hesse worked as a bookseller in Basel, where he formed
important friendships and creative alliances with writers, publishers, and
journalists, described here for the first time.


Moreover, during those years he devoted himself almost exclusively to the
composition of "neo-Romantic" poetry, most notably his "Notturni", hand-
written sets of eight or more poems which he sold as unique collections.
Two dozen of these poems are published here for the first time in the original.

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