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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In the Bavarian highlands, love takes root where a person's word carries weight and the forest shapes a way of life.
In The Hunter of Fall, Ludwig Ganghofer brings you to Fall, a village in Bavaria's Isar valley. Forests and peaks shape the lives of mountain people, foresters and hunters. At the heart of this world stands the hunter, a man whose skill, patience and plain speech bind him to the woods and his village.
Romance grows within a small community where everyone knows everyone, and loyalty gives a person's word its weight. Ganghofer explores these ties through colourful village speech and rich descriptions of nature. The pace is slow and earnest, leaving room to feel the pull of love and the hard beauty of the high woods.
What you’ll discover
- Mountains that shape lives Enter a landscape where forests and peaks are never merely a backdrop.
- A hunter's way of life Meet a central figure whose patience and skill connect him to his community.
- Love close to home Follow romance rooted in village life, where people know one another.
- The weight of loyalty Explore a world where a person's word matters deeply to those around them.
- The sound of village talk Enjoy direct, colourful dialogue alongside detailed descriptions of the Alpine woods.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy mountain landscapes, folk humor and warm-hearted love stories will love this novel. It rewards those who like stubborn, funny villagers and romances where loyalty and a good heart matter most.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A fire binds three lives
- Tenderness meets sorrow in Modei's hut
- Blasi's charm conceals his selfishness
- Kindness gives Friedl a quieter hope
- Love makes room for the child
- A protective act looks like betrayal
- Faith and justice remain open questions
- Humor and landscape carry the story
- Trust grows through care and forgiveness
Who’s who
- FriedlA gamekeeper at Fall who has loved Modei since childhood and tries to do right by her, by his mother and by his duty.
- ModeiA dairymaid on the Grottenalm, hardworking and proud, who longs for her small son and for a love she can trust.
- LenzlModei's white-haired brother, damaged by the fire that killed their parents, who speaks in riddles and sees more than anyone expects.
- BlasiHuisenblasi, a farmer's son and charming poacher called Nine Nails, who wants a rich marriage and nothing to owe.
- Benno HarlanderA city doctor who spends summers hunting chamois with the gamekeepers and becomes Friedl's trusted friend.
- HiesA cheerful, bearded assistant gamekeeper and zither player, who is determined to catch the poacher Nine Nails.
- PunklA hard-of-hearing old dairymaid who fears she has missed her chances and keeps hoping for a cure for her loneliness.
- FranzerlModei's two-year-old boy, who calls Friedl Atti and carries the quiet knot of the whole story.
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The Hunter of Fall
by Ludwig Ganghofer · 1881
A hunter in the Isar valley loves a dairymaid whose child belongs to the poacher he is paid to catch.
Easy read2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“Everyone does what they have to.”
In short
It is a cold December night in the village of Lenggries. A night watchman sits on a fence post, freezing, when he sees a black patch spread across a snowy roof.
The Hunter of Fall at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 10 min3 h 20 min fast, 5 h slow
- Length
- 59,600 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1881by Ludwig Ganghofer
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A burning farmhouse leaves two children alone
The book opens on a silent December night in Lenggries, with snow on every roof. The night watchman Veri walks his rounds, cold and bored. Then he sees a black patch spreading across the roof of the Meier farm. Smoke curls up, the roof bursts open, and a hundred people pass buckets down to the river.
Lenzl, a young man of twenty-five, appears at the attic window with his three-year-old stepsister Modei in his arms. He calls for his parents, while the crowd begs him to jump into a heap of hay. At last the priest shouts up that his parents are already outside. Lenzl jumps, and the lie saves two lives.
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Details
- First published
- 1881
- Language
- English
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Ganghofer, Ludwig. The Hunter of Fall. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-hunter-of-fall.
Ganghofer, L. (2026). The hunter of Fall. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-hunter-of-fall (Original work published 1881)
Ganghofer, Ludwig. The Hunter of Fall. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-hunter-of-fall.
@book{ganghofer2026hunter,
author = {Ganghofer, Ludwig},
title = {The Hunter of Fall},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-hunter-of-fall},
note = {First published 1881}
}
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What is The Hunter of Fall about?
It follows Friedl, a Bavarian gamekeeper, who loves the dairymaid Modei. Her little boy is the child of Blasi, a poacher whom Friedl is paid to catch, so love and duty pull him in opposite directions.
Who is Nine Nails in The Hunter of Fall?
Nine Nails, or Neunnägel, is the nickname gamekeepers give an unknown poacher whose boot soles carry nine nailheads. He kills does and young animals with a modern breechloader, and Friedl and Hies keep finding his tracks.
When and where is The Hunter of Fall set?
The story is set around 1880 in the Bavarian Alps, in Fall, where the Isar and Dürrach rivers meet, and on the mountain pastures above it. It is fiction, but it draws on real forest and hunting life.
The author
Ludwig Ganghofer
1855–1920 · German novelist
Ludwig Ganghofer was a German writer born in Kaufbeuren in 1855. He wrote novels, short stories and plays, often set in the Bavarian Alps. His novel The Hunter of Fall appeared in 1883. He lived in Munich and also spent time in Tyrol. He died in Tegernsee in 1920.
“Everyone does what they have to.”
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