Author johanna spyri biography essay

Johanna Louise Spyri  was a Swiss-born author of novels, notably children's stories, and is best known for her book Heidi. Born in Hirzel, a rural area in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers near Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels. In April a professor searching for children's illustrations found a book written in by a German history teacher, Hermann Adam von Kamp, that Johanna may have used as a basis for Heidi. The story is titled Adelheide - das Mädchen vom Alpengebirge-translated, "Adelaide, the girl from the Alps". The two stories were alleged to share many similarities in plot line and imagery. Spyri biographer Regine Schindler said it was entirely possible that Johanna may have been familiar with the story as she grew up in a literate household with many books. She was born on 12 June in Hirzel, Switzerland.

Latest News

Heidi, which tells the story of a young orphan girl who moves to the Swiss Alps to live with her grandfather, has been translated into hundreds of languages and has never been out of print. The adventures of the cheerful and kind-hearted Heidi as she navigates life with Grandfather, Peter the goatherd, and her sickly friend Clara is famous for its vivid portrayal of the landscape and for Spyri’s psychological insight into a child’s mind.

Born on June 12, , the author was the fourth of six children of Dr Johann Jakob Heusser-Schweizer and poet Meta Heusser-Schweizer. The family lived in Hirzel, a pastoral area in the canton of Zurich, set against the mighty Alps and teeming with lush forests, rolling hills. Johanna moved to Zürich at 25 after she married Bernhard Spyri, a lawyer, in Their only son, Bernhard Diethelm, was born three years later.

Her love of her homeland, feeling for nature, and cheerful wisdom gave her work and her life a unique, sensory quality. Her books include Heimatlos () and Gritli ().

But the move to Zurich wasn’t easy for a woman who had grown up in the lap of nature. She often went to stay with a friend in Jenins, in the canton of Grisons. A few trips and excursions led to the idea of Heidi. Local lore suggests that a young, cheerful girl who lived in a village above Maienfeld was the original inspiration for Heidi.

Spyri wrote two volumes in German recounting Heidi’s adventures: Heidis Lehr - und Wanderjahre () and Heidi kann brauchen, was es gelernt hat (). The text of these two volumes is usually translated and published together as a single book, originally subtitled “a book for children and those who love children”. The story of Heid

Johanna Spyri (12 June – 7 July ) wrote stories for children in the German language. Her most famous book was Heidi.

Biography

She was born Johanna Heusser in Hirzel, Switzerland. Her father was a doctor and her mother was a poet.

She lived with her extended family: her grandmother, two aunties, and two cousins as well as her mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This large household inspired her when she wrote Gritli's Children.

She spent several summers around Chur in Graubünden when she was young. This setting was later used in her novels.

Her only education was her village school in Hirzel. She wrote poetry as a child.

She married Bernhard Spyri, an employee , when she was They met when they were children. They lived in Zurich, Switzerland and had only one child, a son, Berhard Diethelm Spyri, in In Zurich, they were friends with the musician Richard Wagner and poet Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. Both her husband and son died of tuberculosis in

Writing

In , she started writing to help orphans and refugees of the Franco-Prussian War by describing their situation and giving money from her books to help them.

Her first stories were very popular, so she wrote another story about another orphan, Heidi. She published the first part of Heidi anonymously in It became popular, so she wrote the second part in using her own name. She became very famous, but preferred a quiet, private life.

She wrote more than forty stories for children in German. Most of these stories have been translated into English. Heidi is still her most popular book, with new editions still published today.

She died in Berlin on July 7, , but is buried with her family Zurich.

References

The enchanting setting of the Alps, an orphan girl with an immense capacity to do good, the healing power of nature and a happy ending. What else is needed to create an enduring children&#;s classic? Swiss writer Johanna Spyri accomplished this in Heidi, a book that has never been out of print.

When Heidi came into my hands as a nine-year-old, I was enthralled by this little girl&#;s ability to transform so many people, bring sunshine into so many lives. So last year, when my daughter living in Switzerland told me that she had noticed a sign saying &#;Johanna Spyri Museum&#; while driving to drop her daughter at school, I was absolutely thrilled. And when we visited the charming museum that has been set up in Spyri&#;s old schoolhouse in the picturesque village of Hirzel, the sight of her family home, her grandfather&#;s house and the church she must have attended, literally gave me goosebumps!

The process of discovering a writer&#;s personal life adds a completely new dimension to any book. Gazing at family photos, the desk Johanna wrote on, early copies of Heidi and her other titles and contracts with her publishers, provided many insights into the creation of this timeless classic. Our jovial guide Bernard Jordan enhanced the experience with fascinating nuggets of information.

Johanna Spyri was born in Hirzel, in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, on 12 June Originally Johanna Louise Heusser, her father Johann Jakob Heusser was a doctor and her mother Meta Heusser-Schweizer the daughter of a pastor. A close family-Johanna had two brothers, Theodor and Christian and three sisters, Ana, Ega and Meta. They led a comfortable life, though Switzerland was not a prosperous country at that time. Her mother penned hymns and poems on Christian themes, though she preferred to remain anonymous, despite enjoying some popularity. Johanna had a very religious upbring