6 h 59 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when war reaches your farm, and no one comes to protect you?
In Hermann Löns’s The Warwolf, the Thirty Years’ War reaches the scattered farms of the Lüneburg Heath. Soldiers and plunderers take cattle, burn buildings and seize what they need. For farmer Harm Wulf, the struggle is close to home: his family, his neighbors and the ground they live on.
Harm leads the farmers as they answer force with force. Around them lie sandy soil, juniper, heather, birch and pine—a landscape that shapes their lives and their resistance. Told in the manner of an old peasant chronicle, the novel brings war down to the scale of a household trying to survive.
What you’ll discover
- A heath under threat Walk among isolated farms, woods and sand as hunger, fire and fear draw near.
- A farmer fights back Follow Harm Wulf as he gathers neighbors to defend the land that sustains them.
- War from the farm See the conflict through people whose cattle, shelter and families stand in its path.
- The meaning of Warwolf Discover a band of farmers who fight like wolves protecting their own ground.
- A rough chronicle voice Feel the weight of terrible years in plain, short sentences and an old-fashioned style.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like historical fiction with a strong sense of landscape, and anyone curious about the Thirty Years' War from the farmer's side. It may suit you less if you avoid harsh violence or dislike an old-fashioned, heavy style.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The heath before the soldiers come
- When war comes, no one protects the farmers
- The farmers answer force with force
- A chronicle voice and a troubled legacy
Who’s who
- Harm WulfA farmer of the Lüneburg Heath who leads his neighbors in defending their land against soldiers and plunderers.
- The farmers of the heathVillagers and neighbors who gather behind Harm Wulf, wanting to keep their homes and families alive in a lawless war.
- The soldiers and maraudersArmed bands who sweep over the heath, taking food, cattle and shelter by force as the Thirty Years' War rolls on.
- The Wulf familyHarm's household and kin, whose farm and bloodline stand for the old order that the war threatens to destroy.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 59 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 4 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Der Wehrwolf in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: Deutsch
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
The heath before the soldiers come
The novel opens in the country Löns knew best, the Lüneburg Heath. It is a land of sandy soil, juniper, heather, birch and pine, with farms standing far apart. The farmers live by the seasons, by cattle and grain, and by old family custom. Löns, who was a hunter and a nature writer, describes this land with a close and loving eye.
In this world the farm is everything. A name, a field and a hearth pass from father to son, and the family stands for generations on the same ground. Harm Wulf belongs to this order. He is a landowner who works his own farm, and his people look to him as a man of weight.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Hermann Löns
1866–1914 · German writer and journalist
Hermann Löns (1866–1914) was a German journalist and writer. He was born in Culm, West Prussia, now Chełmno in Poland, and lived in Hanover. He wrote novels, stories and poems. Mümmelmann appeared in 1909 and The Warwolf in 1910. He died in France while serving in the First World War.
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by Hermann Löns
All 2 books
More like this
Free
Free
FreeOur mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Der Wehrwolf
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is The Warwolf about?
It is a novel about farmers on the Lüneburg Heath during the Thirty Years' War. Led by Harm Wulf, they unite to defend their land and families from soldiers and plunderers when no authority protects them.
Is The Warwolf a true story?
No, it is fiction. Hermann Löns published it in 1910, setting it in the real Thirty Years' War of the 1600s and imitating an old peasant chronicle, but its characters and events are his own creation.
What does the title Wehrwolf mean?
The German word joins Wehr, meaning defense, with Wolf. It names a band of people who defend their home as fiercely as wolves, and it also plays on the word werewolf.
Popular in classics
See all
Free
