Caroline Pichler, also spelled Karoline, (7 September 1769 – 9 July 1843) was an Austrian historical novelist.

Life

She was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Hofrat ''Geheimrat'' was the title of the highest advising officials at the Imperial, royal or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic r ...

Franz Sales von Greiner (1730–1798) and his wife Charlotte, née Hieronymus (1739–1815). In the 1770s Charlotte would visit Maria Theresa and often bring her daughter Caroline with her. As a young girl, Caroline met

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

and was a pupil of Mozart, who regularly performed music at the Greiners' residence. She was taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, French,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in her youth. At age 12, Pichler published her first poem. In 1796, Caroline married Andreas Pichler, a government official, and the brother of Anton Pichler, the owner of the Viennese publisher and printer A. Pichlers Witwe & Sohn. Through her husband's encouragement and her own desires she led a salon for many years that was the center of the literary life in the Austrian capital. Her salon was frequented by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

(who set some of her poems),

Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel (; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German poet, literary critic, philosopher, philologist, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figure ...

Louise Brachmann Louise Brachmann (2 February 1777 — 17 September 1822) was a German poet, short story writer, and novelist. Biography Louise Brachmann was born in Rochlitz, Saxony, to a civil service father and a cultured mother. Responsible for her educati ...

, and

Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vie ...

, among many others, from 1802 to 1824. She died in Vienna in 1843, according to some sources by suicide. 50 years after her death she was reburied at the

Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery (german: Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its ...

. Her early works, ''Olivier'', first published anonymously (1802), ''Idyllen'' (1803) and ''Ruth'' (1805), though displaying considerable talent, were immature. She made her mark in historical romance, and the first of her novels of this class, ''Agathokles'' (1808), written as an answer to

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is ...

's disparagement of Christianity in his ''

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to th ...

'', attained great popularity. Among her other novels may be mentioned ''Die Belagerung Wiens'' (1824); ''Die Schweden in Prag'' (1827); ''Die Wiedereroberung Wiens'' (1829) and ''Henriette von England'' (1832). Her last work was ''Zeitbilder'' (1840). Her autobiography in four volumes, ''Denkwürdigkeiten aus meinem Leben'' (''Memorables from my Life'') was published posthumously in 1844. Pichler's ''Complete Works'' consist of 60 volumes. One of her essays was abbreviated and included in an anthology of German Women writers for German language learners.

Selected works

Caroline Pichler's published works as cited by ''An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers''. *''Gleichnisse'', 1800. *''Idyllen'', 1803. *''Lenore'', 2 parts 1804. *''Ruth'', 1805. *''Agathokles'', 1808. *''Die Grafen von Hohenberg'', 2 volumes 1811. *''Biblische Idyllen'', 1812. *''Frauenwürde'', 4 volumes 1818. *''Gedichte'', 1822. *''Die Belagerung Wiens'', 3 volumes 1824. *''Die Schweden in Prag'', 1827. *''Die Wiedereroberung von Ofen'', 2 volumes, 1829. *''Friedrich der Streitbare'', 4 volumes 1831. *''Elisabeth von Guttenstein'', 1835. *''Denkwürdigkeiten aus meinen Leben'', 4 volumes 1844. *''Ferdinand II'', 1816.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
A selection of works by Pichler
from the Sophie database {{DEFAULTSORT:Pichler, Caroline 1769 births 1843 deaths Writers from Vienna 19th-century Austrian women writers Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery 18th-century Austrian people Austrian salon-holders Harold B. Lee Library-related rare books articles

Life

Selected works

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links