Magister Ludi / The Glass Bead Game – Hermann Hesse (Bantam, 1970)

Magister Ludi, also known as The Glass Bead Game, is Hermann Hesse’s final and most acclaimed novel, the work that earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. Set in a distant future, the story unfolds in the province of Castalia—an isolated intellectual society dedicated to scholarship, spiritual development, and the mastery of a symbolic, all-encompassing game that unites art, music, science, and philosophy. At the center of this visionary narrative is Joseph Knecht, who rises through the ranks to become the Magister Ludi, or Master of the Game. As he reflects on the values of Castalia, he begins to question the detachment of the scholarly life from the world’s pressing human concerns. Through Knecht’s journey, Hesse explores themes of knowledge, service, freedom, and the eternal tension between contemplation and action. This unabridged translation by Richard and Clara Winston presents the novel in clear, lyrical English, preserving the philosophical depth and poetic beauty of the original German.

Technical details:

Pages: 558

Publication year: 1970 (Bantam Books edition)

Publisher: Bantam Books

Language: English

Translated from: German (original title: Das Glasperlenspiel)

Translators: Richard and Clara Winston

Author: Hermann Hesse

ISBN: Not listed (pre-ISBN edition; Bantam T6555)

Alternative title: The Glass Bead Game