''Die schöne Wilhelmine'' ("the beautiful Wilhelmine") is a 1965 novel by the German writer

Ernst von Salomon Ernst von Salomon (25 September 1902 – 9 August 1972) was a German novelist and screenwriter. He was a Weimar-era national-revolutionary activist and right-wing Freikorps member. Family and education He was born in Kiel, in the Kingdom of Pr ...

. It tells the story of the romance between the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm II and his mistress Wilhelmine Encke during the second half of the 18th century.

Reception

Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (; 9 November 1907 – 26 September 1994) was a member of the princely House of Hohenzollern, which occupied the Prussian and German thrones until the abolition of those monarchies in 1918. He was also notewo ...

, reviewed the book in ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'': "The author views his novel's hero and heroine completely from their own period. This succeeds in a masterly manner. All recurring characters are presented to us as full-blooded people." The prince continued: "Puritanically inclined readers will probably not enjoy this material with too much pleasure. However, the meticulous erotic passages at the start could also repel some jaded readers. But as the action progresses these descriptions become more and more peripherical and negligible."

Adaptation

The book was adapted into a

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

television serial with the same title. It was directed by

Rolf von Sydow Rolf von Sydow (18 June 1924 – 16 June 2019) was a German film director and author. Life Von Sydow worked as a film director in Germany. He married on three occasions. As an author, Sydow wrote several books and audible books. Works by Syd ...

and broadcast in four episodes in September 1984.

References

1965 German novels Biographical novels German historical novels German novels adapted into films German-language novels Historical romance novels Novels about royalty Novels by Ernst von Salomon Novels set in the 18th century Frederick William II of Prussia {{1960s-bio-novel-stub