Wilhelmine von Hillern (11 March 1836

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

– 15 December 1916 Hohenaschau) was a German actress and novelist.

Biography

She was the daughter of the novelist

Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer (23 June 1800 in Stuttgart25 August 1868 in Berlin) was a German actress, writer, director of the Stadttheater in Zürich for six years, and author of over 100 plays and libretto. Biography Charlotte Johanna Birch-Pfeif ...

. She was brought up in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, became an actress at

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

(1854), and married the prominent jurist von Hillern at

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

in 1857. Her husband died 8 December 1882. After that, she lived chiefly at

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

and

Tutzing Tutzing is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany, on the west bank of the Starnberger See. Just 40 km south-west of Munich and with good views of the Alps, the town was traditionally a favorite vacation spot for th ...

. Her principal novels and short stories were produced during the 1860s and 1870s. One of them,
Höher als die Kirche
' (Higher Than the Church; a tale of

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

days, 1877) was quite well known in America by reason of the fact that it was frequently read as a text by students of elementary German. It is a comparatively insignificant work, however, by no means so important as the novels, ''Ein Arzt der Seele'' (A Doctor for the Soul; a satire of

bluestockings ''Bluestocking'' is a term for an educated, intellectual woman, originally a member of the 18th-century Blue Stockings Society from England led by the hostess and critic Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), the "Queen of the Blues", including Eliz ...

, Berlin 1869), ''Die Geier-Wally'' (The Vulture Maiden, Berlin 1875), ''Und sie kommt doch'' (The Hour Will Come, Berlin 1879), and ''Ein Blick ins Weite'' (

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

sketches, 1897). One of her novels, ''Only a Girl'', was translated into English by

Annis Lee Wister Annis Lee Furness Wister (9 October 1830, Philadelphia - 15 November 1908, Philadelphia) was a translator who resided in the United States. She specialized in translations from German to English. Biography She was the daughter of the Rev. William ...

in 1870. Von Hillern's ''Die Geyer-Wally'' became the subject for the Italian composer

Alfredo Catalani Alfredo Catalani (19 June 1854 – 7 August 1893) was an Italian operatic composer. He is best remembered for his operas ''Loreley'' (1890) and ''La Wally'' (1892). ''La Wally'' was composed to a libretto by Luigi Illica, and features Catalani's ...

's last and most successful opera. The memoirs and biographies of Sabine Baring-Gould contain firsthand descriptions of von Hillern.

References

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillern, Wilhelmine von 1836 births 1916 deaths German women novelists German stage actresses Actresses from Munich 19th-century German actresses 19th-century German writers 19th-century German women writers Writers from Munich