6 h 59 minAudiobook7 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.
Who will love it
For readers who love historical adventure with a strong sense of place, tales of ordinary people under pressure, and heath, marsh and village life told with dry humour and folk songs.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The Wulf family holds the wild heath
- A cheerful man finds love and a family
- Soldiers bring cruelty to quiet farms
- Drewes teaches the farmers to defend themselves
- The war takes everything Harm loved
- The marsh becomes a fortress and a home
- Justice on the heath has a heavy price
- A preacher brings comfort and learning
- What the story means and how it is told
Who’s who
- Harm WulfA cheerful heath farmer who loses nearly everything to the war and becomes the leader of the Warwolves.
- Rose UlHarm's lively first wife, the daughter of Ulenvater, who brings joy to the Wulf farm.
- UlenvaterRose's father, a clever, rhyming farmer who studied at university and mixes foolishness with wisdom.
- ThedelHarm's loyal hired hand, gentle by nature, who rides with him on many raids and later builds his own farm.
- DrewesThe tough chief headman of Engensen who organises the farmers against marauding soldiers.
- ViekenludolfA wild, laughing Warwolf from Rammlingen who loves dancing, women and a good fight.
- JohannaA preacher's daughter from Bavaria, found starving on the heath, who brings learning and care to Peerhobstel.
- PuttfarkenA young unemployed preacher who becomes the pastor, teacher and historian of the marsh community.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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The Warwolf
by Hermann Löns · 1910
A heath farmer who laughs at everything must learn to defend his home as soldiers overrun the land.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Can a man who laughs at everything keep laughing while his world burns? Harm Wulf tries.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The Wulf family holds the wild heath
The story opens in the distant past, when the heath belongs to wolves, bears and owls. Fair-haired settlers arrive with wagons and dogs and build lonely farms. The last and best farm, beside the marsh, belongs to the Wulf family, and the village is called Ödringen.
Through the centuries the Wulfs stand at the front. They fight the Romans, then the Franks. They accept baptism only when resistance costs too much, and they burn the castle when disorder sweeps the realm. The Wulf farmer keeps a charter that spares him the rent that binds his neighbours. The family keeps its bright eyes and its habit of laughing until the hardest times dim them.
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What is The Warwolf about?
It follows Harm Wulf, a farmer on Lüneburg Heath, as the Thirty Years' War destroys his village. He and his neighbours form a band that defends the marsh against roving soldiers and marauders.
What does Warwolf mean in the book?
The Warwolves are a secret band of young farmers who guard the heath. They mark their work with a wolf hook cut into trees, a sign taken from the Wulf family mark.
Is The Warwolf a true story?
It is a novel set during the Thirty Years' War. It follows the farmers of Ödringen through the fighting and their struggle to protect their community.
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.
More by Hermann Löns
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