Charlotta Dorothea Biehl (June 2, 1731 – May 17, 1788) was a Danish author, playwright and translator.

Biography

Charlotta Dorothea Biehl was born in

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Her parents were Christian Æmilius Biehl and Sophie Hedevig Brøer. At an early age, she learned to read and write in both the Danish and German languages from her maternal grandfather, Hans Brøer, who died when she was eight years old. After his death, her parents forbade her to read, and when her grandmother also died in 1746, she had to become a maid in 1747. In 1755, her father became a secretary at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

. Marianne Alenius
Dorothea Biehl (1731-1788)
Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon In 1761, Biehl started to translate plays from French in particular, but also from German and Italian for 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 ser ...

. In 1762, her own play, ''Poète Campagnard'', had its first performance, and she continued as a playwright until 1783. She wrote 13 comedies and was the first author in Denmark to give children parts and lines in her plays. Her greatest success was ''Den kierlige Mand'' (1764). Her play ''Den listige Optrækkerske'' (1765), about a woman using men's sexuality as a mean of self confirmation, became a scandal. In 1771, she met Johan Bülow, whose position at the royal count inspired Biehl's historical letters about the Danish kings Frederik V, Christian VI, Frederik VI and Christian VII. Her correspondence with Johan Bülow, ''Brevveksling imellem fortrolige venner,'' was published in 1783. She also translated the

Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

into Danish (''Den sindriige Adelsmand Don Quixote af Manchas Levnet og Bedrifter'', 1776-77).

Selected works

*''Poète Campagnard'' (1762) * ''Den kierlige mand'' (1764) * ''Den forelskede ven'' (1765) * ''Den listige optrækkerske'' (1765) *''Den prøvede Troskab'' (1774) *''Kierligheds-Brevene'' (1774) *''Den listige Optrækkerske'' (1765) * ''Brevveksling imellem fortrolige venner'' 1-3, (1783) *''Orpheus og Eurydice'' (1786) *''Mit ubetydelige Levnets Løb'' (1787)

Biography

Selected works

See also

References

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