Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was born in Württemberg, Germany. He resented his pious and repressive upbringing, and was determined to be "a writer or nothing else". His writing was greatly influenced by his travels to Asia and through his friendship with psychoanalyst Carl Jung. In 1946 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Several of his novels are available or forthcoming from Pushkin Press Classics, including Siddartha, Narcissus and Goldmund and Journey to the East.