Johanna Spyri facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Johanna Spyri
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Johanna Spyri, 1879
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| Born | 12 June 1827 Hirzel, Switzerland |
| Died | 7 July 1901 (aged 74) Zürich, Switzerland |
| Occupation | Short story writer, novelist |
| Genre | Children's literature, adult literature |
| Notable works | Heidi |
Johanna Louise Spyri (née Heusser; (12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901) 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.
Contents
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 when she was 25. They met when they were children. They lived in Zurich, Switzerland and had only one child. In Zurich, they were friends with the musician Richard Wagner and poet Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. Both her husband and son died of tuberculosis in 1884.
Writing
In 1870, 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 1881. It became popular, so she wrote the second part in 1882 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, 1901 andis buried with her family Zurich.
Images for kids
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Gravesite at Sihlfeld cemetery in Zurich
See also
In Spanish: Johanna Spyri para niños
