About this book
What happens when the wish to get ahead pulls two brothers away from each other?
In Friedrich Huch’s Pitt and Fox, two brothers follow paths that run beside each other and often clash. Love, ambition and rivalry shape their lives, testing a bond that neither stands apart from. Their story turns on the tension between family ties and personal desire: how to pursue what you want when your brother has wishes of his own.
Huch brings an inward, psychological eye to this family conflict. The wish to rise, to win recognition or to succeed pushes the brothers in different directions, while love complicates their rivalry. For readers drawn to the feelings behind a choice, the novel offers a close look at lives pulled between affection and competition.
What you’ll discover
- A bond under strain Follow two brothers whose family connection is tested by the things they want.
- Love tangled with rivalry Explore how affection and competition become entangled within the brothers’ lives.
- The pull of ambition Trace the desire for success as it sends the brothers along different paths.
- An inward looking story Look beyond events to the desires and tensions that give them weight.
- Family against personal desire Consider what happens when loyalty to a brother meets the wish to get ahead.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy comic novels about family, character and self-deception will find a lot here. It suits anyone who likes sharp portraits, lively dialogue and a close look at how people invent themselves.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two brothers hide in different ways
- Elfriede gives Pitt a quiet home
- Pitt's imitation puts love at risk
- Being loved makes Pitt draw away
- Fox gives desire a noble excuse
- Plain kindness answers Lotte's distress
- Fox keeps seeking a grander stage
- Freedom becomes an excuse for fear
- Borrowed selves leave others carrying the cost
Who’s who
- Pitt SintrupThe elder brother, quiet and watchful, who studies law and philosophy and wants a real feeling but cannot keep one.
- Fox SintrupThe younger brother, vain and lazy, who borrows opinions and roles and always sees himself as destined for greatness.
- Elfriede van LooA young pianist, honest and spirited, who loves Pitt and dreams of a career in Paris.
- Mrs. van LooElfriede's silver-haired mother, calm and witty, who rules her household and quietly reads everyone in it.
- Lotte PfanzA cheerful teacher-in-training who loves cake, trusts easily and wants a husband and a safe home.
- Mr. KönneckeA gentle mathematics teacher whose steady kindness shelters people who have nowhere else to go.
- Miss NippeMr. Könnecke's romantic cousin, who speaks in grand images, reads other people's letters and longs for love.
- HertaA tall, strong painter from a northern merchant family who wants to steady Pitt and give him a life.
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Pitt and Fox in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.

Pitt and Fox
by Friedrich Huch · 1909
Two brothers, one who vanishes into mirrors and one who plays every part, chase love and a name in a German town.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
Why does a small boy call his own reflection Pitt, and why does his younger brother end up named Fox? In Pitt and Fox, Friedrich Huch opens with that tiny scene and follows the two Sintrup brothers out of a manufacturer's house and into lecture halls, studios and theaters.
Pitt and Fox at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 35 min6 h fast, 9 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 108,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1909by Friedrich Huch
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
Two brothers named by a mirror
The novel begins with names. A small boy calls his reflection Pitt, and the family adopts it as his name. His younger brother is called Fox, and he resists the name but cannot shake it, so he claims that a descendant of the famous Fox is his godfather and will leave him a fortune.
Fox tells grand stories in which he is the hero. Pitt listens with bored gray eyes and says it happened to him, only the other way around. Where Fox attacks, Pitt hides, pressing himself against a fence until his enemies take him for a post. Pitt also carries a large mirror from room to room in felt slippers and likes to sit before it and think of nothing.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1909
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Huch, Friedrich. Pitt and Fox. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/pitt-and-fox.
Huch, F. (2026). Pitt and Fox. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/pitt-and-fox (Original work published 1909)
Huch, Friedrich. Pitt and Fox. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/pitt-and-fox.
@book{huch2026pitt,
author = {Huch, Friedrich},
title = {Pitt and Fox},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/pitt-and-fox},
note = {First published 1909}
}
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What is Pitt and Fox about?
It follows two brothers, Pitt and Fox Sintrup, from a small German town into university life, love affairs, money trouble, theater and journalism. Pitt cannot hold a feeling, and Fox hides behind borrowed roles and grand claims.
Why are the brothers called Pitt and Fox?
As a small child Pitt names his reflection, and the family adopts the name for him. His younger brother is then called Fox for the sake of consistency. Fox resents the name and claims a descendant of the famous Fox as his godfather.
Who are Elfriede, Lotte and Herta?
Elfriede is a young pianist who loves Pitt. Lotte is a cheerful teacher-in-training who meets Fox before becoming involved with Pitt. Herta is a strong painter who tries to steady Pitt and give him a future.
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