The 33 Greatest Works of Swiss Literature
This selection of literature from Switzerland is based on the continuing research carried out for The Greatest Literature of All Time list and is additionally informed by the views of local readers, writers, critics and scholars.
It encompasses the greatest works of Swiss authors in all forms, genres, cultures and periods.
This list focuses on major creative works—such as novels, novellas, plays and collections—although some short or nonfiction writing of literary significance may also be included.
Latest update: July 24, 2024
1349
The Jewel
Ulrich Boner, Switzerland
Story collection
1761
Julie; or, The New Heloise
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Switzerland
Novel
1762
Emile, or On Education
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Switzerland
Novel
1762
The Social Contract
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Switzerland
Nonfiction
1782
Confessions
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Switzerland
Memoir
1812
Swiss Family Robinson
Johann David Wyss, Switzerland
Novel
1816
Adolphe
Benjamin Constant, Switzerland
Novel
1842
The Black Spider
Jeremias Gotthelf, Switzerland
Novella
1855
Green Henry
Gottfried Keller, Switzerland
Novel
1880–1881
Heidi
Johanna Spyri, Switzerland
Novel
1900–1905
Olympian Spring
Carl Spitteler, Switzerland
Epic poem
1906
Imago
Carl Spitteler, Switzerland
Novel
1909
Jakob von Gunten
Robert Walser, Switzerland
Novel
1919
Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth
Herman Hesse, Switzerland
Novel
1922
Siddhartha
Herman Hesse, Switzerland
Novella
1927
Steppenwolf
Herman Hesse, Switzerland
Novel, originally Der Steppenwolf
1928
Judgment and Reasoning in the Child
Jean Piaget, Switzerland
Nonfiction
1930
Solal of the Solals
Albert Cohen, Switzerland
Novel
1932
Journey to the East
Herman Hesse, Switzerland
Novella
1939
Love in the Western World
Denis de Rougemont, Switzerland
Novel
1945
The Glass Bead Game
Herman Hesse, Switzerland
Novel, also known as Magister Ludi, originally Das Glasperlenspiel
1950
The Judge and his Hangman
Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Switzerland
Novel
1953
The Fire Raiser
Max Frisch, Switzerland
Play
1954
I'm Not Stiller
Max Frisch, Switzerland
Novel, also known as Stiller
1956
The Visit
Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Switzerland
Play
1957
Homo Faber
Max Frisch, Switzerland
Novel
1958
The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel
Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Switzerland
Novella
1962
Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Carl Jung, Switzerland
Memoir
1968
Belle du Seigneur
Albert Cohen, Switzerland
Novel
1969
On Death and Dying
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Switzerland
Nonfiction
1979
Man in the Holocene
Max Frisch, Switzerland
Novel
2009
Seven Years
Peter Stamm, Switzerland
Novel
2016
The Dead
Christian Kracht, Switzerland
Novel
See also:
Creating the Greatest Literature of All Time list
Does it matter which translation you read?
On Twitter:
Introducing:
Read it here!
EDITOR ERIC'S DISCOVERY
A novel of the counterculture.