Read classic German books free, at your level

B1 books (3)

• Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Auswahl), Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1857), 30 chapters, about 57k words: Thirty of the Grimms' best-known fairy tales in the brothers' final text: Hänsel und Gretel, Rotkäppchen, Aschenputtel, Rumpelstilzchen, Frau Holle. Simple storytelling, a few old forms (daß, ward, sprach). Audiobook.
• Max und Moritz, Wilhelm Busch (1865), 9 chapters, about 2k words: Two boys play seven wicked tricks on their village, in rhyming couplets: the picture story every German child knows. Short and funny, with some old words (Düte, Zippelmütze) and old spelling (muß).
• Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre, Johanna Spyri (1880), 14 chapters, about 51k words: Heidi, an orphan, goes to live with her gruff grandfather high on a Swiss mountain, then is taken to the city of Frankfurt. The first Heidi book; plenty of dialogue, Swiss words (Alm-Öhi, Geißenpeter), modern spelling in this edition. Audiobook.

B2 books (5)

• Die Verwandlung, Franz Kafka (1915), 3 chapters, about 19k words: Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning transformed into a giant insect, and his family must live with him. Clear, precise sentences about a nightmare; old spelling (daß). Audiobook.
• Immensee, Theodor Storm (1849), 10 chapters, about 10k words: An old man remembers Elisabeth, the girl he grew up with and lost to his friend. A short, quiet love story in ten scenes, with folk songs; old spelling (daß).
• Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts, Joseph von Eichendorff (1826), 10 chapters, about 31k words: A miller's carefree son leaves home with his fiddle, becomes a gardener near Vienna, falls in love and wanders as far as Rome. Romantic, funny and full of songs; old spelling (daß, gings).
• Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte, Adelbert von Chamisso (1814), 11 chapters, about 20k words: Peter Schlemihl sells his shadow to a mysterious man in grey for a bottomless purse of gold, and finds he cannot live without it. A short fantastic tale in eleven chapters; old spelling (daß). Audiobook.
• Märchen-Almanach auf das Jahr 1826, Wilhelm Hauff (1826), 8 chapters, about 37k words: Merchants crossing the desert tell each other stories: Kalif Storch, the ghost ship, the severed hand, Little Muck, the false prince. Oriental fairy tales framed by the caravan's journey; old spelling (daß). Audiobook.

C1 books (6)

• Der Schimmelreiter, Theodor Storm (1888), 7 chapters, about 38k words: On the North Sea coast, the stubborn dike-reeve Hauke Haien builds a new dike against the storms, and the villagers whisper about his white horse. Storm's last novella, told within a ghost story; some Low German words. Audiobook.
• Effi Briest, Theodor Fontane (1895), 36 chapters, about 95k words: Seventeen-year-old Effi marries a much older baron and moves to a gloomy town on the Baltic, where a brief affair will catch up with her years later. Fontane's great novel of Prussian society, in witty conversations; old spelling. Audiobook.
• Die Judenbuche, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1842), 5 chapters, about 16k words: In a remote Westphalian village, young Friedrich Mergel grows up among poachers and violence; a Jewish trader is murdered under a beech tree. A dark crime story based on a true case; old spelling (daß). Audiobook.
• Der Sandmann, E. T. A. Hoffmann (1816), 5 chapters, about 12k words: Nathanael believes the barometer seller Coppola is the Sandman who haunted his childhood, and falls in love with Olimpia, a strangely perfect young woman. The classic German tale of horror, in letters and narration; old spelling. Audiobook.
• Der Prozess, Franz Kafka (1925), 10 chapters, about 72k words: Josef K. is arrested one morning without having done anything wrong, and spends a year trying to find out what he is accused of. Kafka's novel, in its first edition (1925); old spelling (daß). Audiobook.
• Casanovas Heimfahrt, Arthur Schnitzler (1918), 9 chapters, about 36k words: The ageing Casanova, longing to return to Venice, stops at a friend's country house and becomes obsessed with the young Marcolina. A psychological novella in elegant, ironic prose; old spelling (daß). Audiobook.

C2 books (2)

• Die Leiden des jungen Werther, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1774), 11 chapters, about 39k words: Young Werther writes to his friend about nature, books and his hopeless love for Lotte, who is engaged to another man. The novel in letters that made Goethe famous; 18th-century prose, old spelling (daß). Audiobook.
• Der goldne Topf, E. T. A. Hoffmann (1814), 12 chapters, about 29k words: The clumsy student Anselmus falls in love with a little green-gold snake in an elder bush in Dresden and is drawn into a world of salamanders and witches. Hoffmann's fairy tale of modern times, in twelve night-watches; old spelling. Audiobook.

Where can I read German books online for free?

SparkAI's library has 16 classic books in German, all out of copyright and free to read. Tap a word in the reader for its meaning or save it as a flashcard; the reader also keeps track of the German words you've confirmed you know.

What's a good first German book for learners?

Something written for young readers, at the lowest level you can find. In SparkAI's library that's Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Auswahl) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, at B1. Before that, graded stories build the vocabulary you need.

Is old German hard to read?

Older books can use spellings that have changed since (daß for dass, Thür for Tür) and a more formal style, but the grammar is the same. Most learners can manage them from about B1, with a reader that explains words in context.

Who are the authors?

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm Busch, Johanna Spyri, Franz Kafka, Theodor Storm, Joseph von Eichendorff, Adelbert von Chamisso, Wilhelm Hauff, Theodor Fontane, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Arthur Schnitzler and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.