
Ingeborg Maria Sick (1858–1951) was a Danish writer and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
. After devoting many years to supporting philanthropic initiatives for the poor and needy, from her forties she concentrated on writing, publishing some 30 novels as well as poetry and biographies. ''Fangernes Ven'' (Friend of the Prisones, 1921), a biography of the Swedish-Finnish philanthropist
Mathilda Wrede
Mathilda Wrede (March 8, 1864, Vaasa – December 25, 1928), was a Finnish evangelist and baroness, known for being a precursor in the rehabilitation of prisoners, and known in Finland as "Friend of the prisoners".
Life
Her father, , was the p ...
, is among her most important works. Published in translation throughout Scandinavia and Germany, her novels were widely read. ''Helligt Ægterskab'' (Holy Matrimony, 1903) appeared in no less than six editions in a single year.
Early life
Born in Copenhagen on 17 September 1858, Ingeborg Maria Sick was the daughter of the Danish diplomat Carl Emil Sick (1825–64) and his wife Conradine Franciska née Marcher (1827–87). She spent her early years in Paris where her father was stationed until his early death when she returned to Denmark. As a result, she continued to feel half French and visited France frequently.
[
]
Career
Financially independent and deeply religious, she spent her early years nursing the needy in the poorer quarters of Copenhagen. She extended her knowledge of private philanthropic enterprise during visits to London and Paris.[ Thereafter she was employed for a number of years by the welfare services in Copenhagen.][
It was not until she was over 40 that Sick turned seriously to writing. In 1900, she published a collection of short stories titled ''Udi løndom. Billeder og skizzer'' (In Secret. Pictures and Sketches). Her first popular success came two years later with the romantic novel ''Højfjælds-Præst'' (Highland Priest) in which a young upper-class Copenhagen girl falls in love with a Norwegian priest.][ ''Helligt Ægteskab'' (1903) presents the romances of two sisters, a priest's wife who has a happy marriage and a baroness who falls in love with an artist before returning to her husband.][ Other popular novels included ''Jomfru Else'' (Else the Virgin, 1905), ''Af Jord'' (Of Earth, 1907), ''Farmor Ursulas Have'' (Grandmother Ursula's Garden, 1909) and ''Ina'' (1911). While her novels were widely read in translation throughout Scandinavia and in Germany, some were also published in Dutch, English, French and Russian. Given her deep religious convictions, Sick's novels all show that faith in God triumphs over earthly pleasures. Their popularity resulted from well developed female characters and their erotically coloured conflicts.][
While her novels remained popular until after the ]Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, today she is remembered above all for two biographies. ''Fangernes Ven'' (Friend of the Prisones, 1921) was inspired by Evy Fogelberg's biographies of the Swedish-Finnish philanthropist Mathilda Wrede while ''Pigen fra Danmark'' (The Girl from Denmark), which appeared in four parts until 1945, covers the life of the Danish missionary Karen Jeppe
Karen Vel Jeppe (1 July 1876 – 7 July 1935) was a Danish people, Danish missionary and social worker, known for her work
with Ottoman Armenian refugees and survivors of the Armenian genocide, mainly widows and orphans, from 1903 until
her deat ...
, especially her times in Armenia.[
Ingeborg Maria Sick died in ]Hørsholm
Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality.
Hørsholm proper ...
on 14 November 1951 and was buried in Asminderød Cemetery.
References
External links
Works by Ingeborg Maria Sick in Dansk Forfatterleksikon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sick, Ingeborg Maria
1858 births
1951 deaths
Writers from Copenhagen
19th-century Danish philosophers
20th-century Danish philosophers
Danish women philosophers
20th-century Danish writers
20th-century Danish women writers
20th-century Danish novelists
Danish women novelists
20th-century Danish biographers
Danish women biographers
20th-century Danish poets
Danish women poets