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Johanna Louise Spyri (; ; 12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901) was a Swiss author of novels, notably children's stories, and is best known for her book '' Heidi''. Born in
Hirzel Hirzel is a former municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the municipality of Horgen. History Hirzel is first mentioned in 1269 as ''Hirsol ...
, a rural area in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers near
Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxe ...
in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels.


Biography

In 1852, Johanna Heusser married Bernhard Spyri. Bernhard was a lawyer. Whilst living in the city of
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...
she began to write about life in the country. Her first story, ''A Leaf on Vrony's Grave'', which deals with a woman's life of
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...
, was published in 1880; the following year further stories for both adults and children appeared, among them the novel '' Heidi'', which she wrote in four weeks. ''Heidi'' tells the story of an
orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...
girl who lives with her grandfather in the Swiss
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
, and is famous for its vivid portrayal of the landscape. Her husband and her only child, both named Bernhard, both died in 1884. Alone, she devoted herself to charitable causes and wrote over fifty more stories before her death in 1901. She was interred in the family plot at the Sihlfeld-A Cemetery in Zürich. An icon in Switzerland, Spyri's portrait was placed on a
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
in 1951 and on a 20 CHF
commemorative coin Commemorative coins are coins issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Many coins of this category serve as collectors items only, although some countries ...
in 2009.


Plagiarism claim

In April 2010 a professor searching for children's illustrations found a book written in 1830 by a German history teacher, Hermann Adam von Kamp, that Spyri may have used as a basis for ''Heidi''. The 1830 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. However, the professor's claims have been examined and afterwards described as "unscientific", due to 'superficial coincidences' he brings up in descriptions and the many actual differences in the story, that he doesn't, as well as the "Swiss disease" of homesickness already being a common trope in fiction in the eighteenth (nineteenth in the article) century (as well as, while not mentioned in the article, it being discovered before von Kamp was even born) and characters that are either drastically different or not in "Adelaide", at all.


Bibliography

The following is a list of her main books: *''Heimatlos: Two stories for children, and for those who love children'' (1877) *'' Heidi'' (1880-81) *''The Story of Rico'' (1882) *''Uncle Titus and His Visit to the Country'' (1883) *''Gritli's Children'' (1883-84) *''Rico and Wiseli'' (1885) *''Veronica And Other Friends'' (1886) *''What Sami Sings with the Birds'' (1887) *''Toni, the Little Woodcarver'' (1890) *''Erick and Sally'' (1891) *''Mäzli'' (1891) *''Cornelli'' (1892) *''Vinzi: A Story of the Swiss Alps'' (1892) *''Moni the Goat-Boy'' (1897) *''Little Miss Grasshopper'' (1898) Her books were originally written in German. The translations into English at the end of the 19th century, or the early 1900s, mention H. A. Melcon (1839–1910),
Maria Louise Kirk Maria Louise Kirk (21 June 1860 – 21 June 1938), usually credited as M. L. Kirk or Maria L. Kirk, was an American painter and illustrator of more than fifty books, most of them for children. Her notable work includes illustrations for a US edi ...
(1860–1938), Emma Stelter Hopkins, Louise Brooks, Helen B. Dole and the couple
Charles Wharton Stork Charles Wharton Stork (12 February 1881 – 22 May 1971) was an American literary author, poet, and translator. Life Charles Wharton Stork was born in Philadelphia on 12 February 1881 to Theophilus Baker and Hannah (Wharton) Stork. He gradu ...
and Elisabeth P. Stork.


References


External links

* * * * *
Works by Johanna Spyri at Classicreader.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spyri, Johanna 1827 births 1901 deaths People from Horgen District Swiss children's writers German-language writers 19th-century Swiss novelists 19th-century Swiss women writers 19th-century Swiss writers Swiss women children's writers Swiss women novelists