Joseph Spillmann (b. at
Zug
, neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri
, twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina)
Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, 22 April 1842; d. at
Luxembourg, 23 February 1905) was a Swiss
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
children's author.
Life
He attended the primary school and gymnasium in Zug, but bad health necessitated his leaving his studies and devoting himself to his father's business. At the age of sixteen he resumed his interrupted studies at the Jesuit college of
Feldkirch Feldkirch may refer to:
Places
* Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district in Austria
** Feldkirch (district), an administrative division of Vorarlberg, Austria
* Feldkirch (Hartheim), a village in the municip ...
.
Having entered the Jesuit novitiate at
Gorheim (1862), he was sent, during the Franco-Prussian War (1870), to nurse the sick. Ten years later, when his order was banished from Germany, he went to England to complete his theological studies, and in 1874 was ordained priest.
Works
Spillmann's importance arises chiefly from his works for the young. In 1872, he contributed to
Georg Michael Pachtler
Georg Michael Pachtler (14 September 1825, at Mergentheim, Württemberg – 12 August 1889, at Exaten, Netherlands) was a German Jesuit and educational writer.
Life
He studied in the University of Tübingen and was ordained priest in 1848; he ...
's calendar . He was appointed collaborator on the (founded in 1871) and the (founded in 1873). Spillmann's literary activity resulted chiefly from his connection with these periodicals, especially the , which he edited from 1880 to 1890.
From Spillmann's grew seventy portly volumes of the , while twenty-one booklets, owe their origin to the same source; those consisted of edifying illustrated stories for the young. His comprehensive began with articles in the , was continued in the supplements to this periodical, and was completed in five large volumes. For the calendar, the , which was given up in 1881, Spillman wrote many stories; these were afterwards collected under the title ", eight pretty stories for the young", and have been frequently republished and translated into other languages.
Spillmann also wrote seven longer romances, the first () appearing in 1893, and the last () ten years later; they are written in the styles of
Walter Scott and
Charles Dickens. An eighth romance was sketched, but a serious illness prevented its completion.
Additional works
* ''
Lucius Flavus'', an 1890
historical novel
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
References
;Attribution
* The entry states: "In addition to the necrologies in various newspapers and periodicals, see Baumgartner in , LXIX, 1-22."
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spillmann, Joseph
1842 births
1905 deaths
Swiss Jesuits
19th-century Swiss Roman Catholic priests
20th-century Swiss Roman Catholic priests
People from Zug