Michael Ancher - Portræt af Alba Schwartz

Sofie Albertine (Alba) Schwartz née Larsen (1857–1942) was a Danish writer who contributed to the social life of

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...

in the north of Jutland after her husband was appointed mayor in 1899. Her earlier writings documented the history of the town but it was not until she was in her seventies that she began writing novels, publishing ''Overlægen'' (The Specialist Physician) in 1935. Her most successful work was ''Skilsmissens Børn'' which led to the film '' Children of Divorce'' in 1939.

Early life, education and family

Born on 9 December 1857 in Copenhagen, Sofie Albertine Larsen was the daughter of the surgeon Søren Eskildsen Larsen (1802–90) and his wife Sophia Albertina née Matzen (1815–95). She was the youngest of the family's 14 children. Brought up in a well-to-do home in central Copenhagen, she initially aspired to become an actress and studied drama under the celebrated . In December 1882, she married the municipal lawyer Otto Georg Schwartz (1852–1915) with whom she had two children: Erik (1884) and Walther (1889).

Professional life

Schwartz briefly performed on the stage in Holberg's ''

Jeppe on the Hill ''Jeppe on the Hill; Or, The Transformed Peasant'' ( da, Jeppe på bjerget) is a Danish comedy by the Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg, written during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. The play premiered at the Lille Grønnegade T ...

'' but following her marriage in 1882, she devoted herself to her family. In 1899, with her husband's appointment as mayor, the family moved to Skagen where they became an active part of the cultural scene centred on the

Skagen Painters The Skagen Painters ( da, Skagensmalerne) were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered in the village of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark, from the late 1870s until the turn of the century. Skagen was a summer destination whose scen ...

, associating in particular with

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

and

Michael Ancher Michael Peter Ancher (9 June 1849 – 19 September 1927) was a Danish realist artist, and widely known for his paintings of fishermen, the lakes, and other scenes from the Danish fishing community in Skagen. Early life and education Michael ...

who instructed their son Walther in painting. Taking an interest in the history of the town and its current development, she published a two-volume illustrated work consisting of ''Skagen. Den svundne Tid i Sagn og Billeder'' (1912) and ''Skagen. Den nye Tid i Oplevelser og Indtryk'' (1913). It was not however until she was in her seventies that she began to write novels, all based on love, affectionate relationships and family life, especially the role of motherhood. First came ''Overlægen'' (The Specialist Physician, 1932) describing a love affair between a nurse and her superior, then came ''Barnet'' (The Child, 1935) which is also set in the medical environment she know from childhood. Her most successful work was ''Skilsmissens Børn'' (1936) which led to the film ''Children of Divorce'' in 1939. Alba Schwartz died in Skagen on 10 January 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Alba 1857 births 1942 deaths People from Skagen Writers from Copenhagen 20th-century Danish novelists 20th-century Danish women writers