Charlotte "Lotten" Louise von Kræmer (6 August 1828, in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

– 23 December 1912, in Stockholm) was a Swedish baroness, writer, poet, philanthropist and women's rights activist. She was the founder of the literary society

Samfundet De Nio Samfundet De Nio (''The Nine Society'' or ''Society of the Nine'') is a Swedish literary society founded on 14 February 1913 in Stockholm by a testamentary donation from writer Lotten von Kraemer. The society has nine members who are elected for ...

and, alongside

Martina Bergman-Österberg Martina Sofia Helena Bergman-Österberg (née Bergman; 7 October 1849 – 29 July 1915)Westrin, p. 194 was a Swedish-born physical education instructor and women's suffrage advocate who spent most of her working life in Britain. After studying gym ...

, the main financier of the National Association for Women's Suffrage.

Biography

Lotten von Kræmer was the daughter of the governor of Uppsala County,

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

and Maria Charlotte (Lotten) Söderberg and the sister of the writer, scientist and politician Robert von Kraemer. She was raised in the governor's residence at the Uppsala Castle in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, and received private education from the professors of the

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

. She was a popular participator of the cultural and intellectual society life in Uppsala. Authors such as

Geijer Geijer is a Swedish surname. People with this surname include: *Agnes Geijer (1898–1989), Swedish historian and archaeologist *Arne Geijer (1910–1979), trade unionist *Erik Gustaf Geijer (1783–1847), writer, composer, and historian *Eric Nevi ...

and

Atterbom Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom (19 January 1790 in Åsbo, Östergötland – 21 July 1855) was a Swedish romantic poet, and a member of the Swedish Academy. Life He was son of a country parson, was born in the province of Ostergotland on 19 Jan ...

were acquainted with her parents, and Fredrika Bremer was a friend of her mother. She herself proved her talent in various artistic fields such as within literary evenings, dance during the balls and acting during the amateur theater, such as when she played the part of

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

, in which she was instructed by

Elise Hwasser Ebba Charlotta Elise Hwasser née ''Jakobsson'' (16 March 1831 – 28 January 1894) was a Swedish stage actress. She was an elite actor and has been referred to as the leading lady of the Royal Dramatic Theatre in the mid 19th-century.Nordensva ...

. In the summer of 1847, she visited Germany, Austria and Italy with her family. From 1847, however, her hearing slowly deteriorated as a consequence of

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

, and she eventually became deaf. This ended her society life and affected her deeply. She was engaged to the conservative student Sten Johan Stenberg in 1855, but the engagement ended because of her deteriorating hearing and because he could not accept her radical ideas and her literary ambitions. She never married. In 1880, her father died and she inherited a great fortune, which she is said to have managed very well. She moved to Stockholm, where she lived a more and more spartan life over the years and was regarded as an original. She spent a great deal of her fortune to finance various organisations of charity and reform of her choice.

Bibliography

* ''Dikter'', 1863 * ''Hemresan'', song, 1864 * ''Fantasi-klängväxter kring verklighets stam'', 1865 * ''Tankar i religiösa ämnen'', 1866 * ''Strid svenskt original, 1869 * ''Ackorder'' (poems), 1870 * ''Bland skotska berg och sjöar'', 1870 * ''"Tout pour la patrie"'' (poems), 1872 * ''Nya dikter'', 1882 * ''Felicia: svensk familjedram i tre akter'', 1882 * ''Sånger och bilder'', 1886 * ''En kämpande ande: religiösa dikter'', 1886 * ''Florence Nightingale: poesi'', 1886 * ''Poesiens vandring'' (illustrated by

Jenny Nyström Jenny Eugenia Nyström (13 or 15 June 1854 in Kalmar, Sweden – 17 January 1946 in Stockholm) was a painter and illustrator mainly known as the creator of the Swedish image of the '' jultomte'' on Christmas cards and magazine covers, thu ...

), 1888 * ''Karins bröllop'', novel, 1890 * ''Hermes och Diotima: skådespel i fem akter'', 1892 * ''Den kämpande anden: religiösa väckelser och religiöst liv: några sånger och tidsbilder'', 1892 * ''Hägringar och luftslott'' (poems), 1895 * ''Skogsblommor: idyller och ballader'' (poems), 1896 * ''Eterneller'' (poems), 1896 * ''Två dikter'', 1896 * ''Till Ingeborg och andra dikter'', 1897 * ''Fama: skådespel i tre akter'', 1902 * ''Fragment jämte andra dikter'', 1902 * ''Nästa gång - : berättelser och skisser'', 1902 * ''Testamente'', 1913 * ''Samlade skrifter'' (published by

, with a biography by John Landquist), 1918

Sources

Charlotta (Lotten) L Kræmer, von, urn:sbl:11739, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Ragnar Amenius), hämtad 2014-07-16.

Biography

Bibliography

Sources

Further reading