Fanny Margrethe Kirstine Suenssen (1832–1918) was a Danish writer. Brought up by a mother interested in literature, like her sisters Alfhilda Mechlenburg and

Teckla Juel Teckla Violanta Juel née Suenssen (1834–1904) was a Danish writer and composer. Brought up by a mother interested in literature, like her sisters Alfhilda Mechlenburg and Fanny Suenssen, she contributed articles to women's magazines and pub ...

, she contributed articles to women's magazines and published novels and short stories. Although she suffered from poor health throughout her life and was often bed-ridden, she nevertheless completed her first novel ''Amalie Vardum'' in 1862. She published anonymously until the 1890s when she put her name to two collections of short stories.

Biography

Born in Tønning in southern Jutland on 14 October 1832, Fanny Margrethe Kirstine Suenssen was the second daughter of Captain Johan Fedder Carsten Suenssen (1795–1840) and his wife Margaret née Juel. She was brought up by a mother deeply interested in literature with two sisters who also became writers. Fanny Suenssen spent her childhood in the south of Jutland where her father was a sea captain in Tønning. When he died in 1840, the family moved to Copenhagen where she grew up in a happy home. Suffering from poor health, she remained there for the rest of her life but thanks to her bright outlook and her deep religious faith she overcame the effects of her illness. In 1862, she published her first novel ''Amalie Vardum'' which depicts a girl's childhood and early youth, reflecting some of her own experiences. It was well received. It was followed by ''Juleaften'' (Christmas Eve) in 1864, ''Tekla Eichel'' (1864) and ''Aldrig'' (Never) in 1871, all published anonymously. From 1862, she also published a series of short stories in magazines and newspapers. The first of these was ''En gammel Piges Historie'' (An Old Girl's Story) which was published in episodes in ''

Berlingske Tidende ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...

''. She also contributed stories to ''Skandinavisk Folkemagazin'' from 1870. In 1872, Suenssen also wrote the play ''En Skilsmisse'' (A Divorce) which was first performed in Norway and later at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

in Copenhagen as ''Et Ægteskab i Fare'' (A Marriage in Danger). Her children's book ''Ei blot til Lyst'' was published in 1880. In the 1870s, she contributed a number of articles to ''Berlingske Tidende'' on women's issues under the heading "I Tusmørke" (In the Twilight). She also used the title ''Tusmørke'' for her first collection of short stories in 1890, followed by a second collection ''Han er Jøde'' (He's a Jew) in 1892. Several of her works were also published in Swedish and German, some even in Hungarian. Fanny Suenssen died in the

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

district of Copenhagen on 29 March 1918 and was buried in

Holmen Cemetery Holmen Cemetery ( Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suenssen, Fanny 1832 births 1918 deaths People from Tönning Writers from Copenhagen 19th-century Danish novelists Danish women novelists Danish short story writers Danish women short story writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers Burials at Holmen Cemetery