Marie Huch (born Marie Gerstäcker: 19 May 1853 - 16 August 1934) was a German writer.

Biography

Sophie Carla Pauline Marie "Mady" Huch was born in the Plagwitz quarter of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. She was the eldest daughter of the travel-writer and novelist

Friedrich Gerstäcker Friedrich Gerstäcker (May 10, 1816 in Hamburg – May 31, 1872 in Braunschweig) was a German traveler, novelist, and adventurer. Biography He was the son of Friedrich Gerstäcker (1790–1825), a celebrated opera singer. After being apprenti ...

(1816 – 1872) and his wife, the court playhouse actress (''"Hofschauspielerin"'') Anna Aurora Sauer (1822 – 1861). On 6 December 1870, now aged 17, she married the lawyer Wilhelm Huch (1817 – 1888) at the St Magnus Church in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

. They embarked on married life at their home in central Braunschweig at Hagenmarkt 13 (subsequently destroyed in 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 ...

). Wilhelm Huch was slightly younger than Marie's father, but he was 36 years older than she was. The marriage was nevertheless followed by the births of six recorded children, including the writers Friedrich Huch (1873 – 1913) and Felix Huch (1880 – 1952). Marie Gerstäcker had married into a large literary family, and her husband was one of at least six siblings:

Ricarda Huch Ricarda Huch (; 18 July 1864 – 17 November 1947) was a pioneering German intellectual. Trained as a historian, and the author of many works of European history, she also wrote novels, poems, and a play. Asteroid 879 Ricarda is named in her honou ...

(1864 – 1947) and

Rudolf Huch Rudolf Huch (28 February 1862 – 13 January 1943) was a Brazilian- born German jurist, essayist and author, primarily of satirical novels and short stories. He also produced a number of educational novels. A theme to which he returned repea ...

(1862 – 1943) among Wilhelm Huch's nieces and nephews. During the 1870s and 1880s family finances became increasingly precarious. Wilhelm and Marie Huch moved house several times and by 1888 were living in rented accommodation. After her husband's suicide on 9 June 1888Marie Huch und Friedrich Huch: Im Treibsand der Geschichte. p.116. Marie Huch moved with her children to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

where the family received financial support from Richard Huch (1850 – 1914), her stepson from her late husband's earlier marriage. After she was widowed Marie Huch moved house frequently. She lived out her final years with her son Felix Huch in

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

. It was here that she died, aged 81. Her body was taken to

for burial, ending up beside the grave of her father who had died 62 years earlier. By 1934 Marie Huch had been predeceased by at least two of her children. In the end the bodies of three of her children were buried in the same burial plot as her own at the St Magnus Cemetery in

Works

Marie Huch compiled a volume of memoires concerning her life as a young wife and mother with Wilhelm Huch in

during the 1870s and 1880s. Apparently at the instigation of her kinswoman

, Marie Huch's memoires were published posthumously together with those of her son Friedrich Huch (1873 – 1913), in 1978."Im Treibsand der Geschichte. Die Lebenserinnerungen an die Braunschweiger Zeit von Marie Huch, geb. Gerstäcker und Friedrich Huch" (''"In the quicksands of history ....."''). Herausgegeben von Karlwalther Rohmann. A. Graff, Braunschweig 1978,

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huch, Marie Writers from Leipzig Writers from Braunschweig Writers from Dresden 20th-century German women writers 1853 births 1934 deaths