"Narcissus and Goldmund" was Hermann Hesse's most successful book during his lifetime. Its enduring appeal is evidenced by translations into over 30 languages and the rise in circulation of the German editions to three million copies. Set in the late Gothic Middle Ages, this novel represents Hesse's engagement with 2000 years of Christianity and 1000 years of German history. It illustrates the polarity between sensuality and spirit, imagination and intellect, through the contrasting lives of the adventurous artist Goldmund and his ascetic friend Narcissus, and their connection in art. The extent to which this book, published in 1930, served as a counter-narrative to the National Socialist distortion of German history is illustrated by the documentation of its genesis presented here for the first time in Hesse's letters.