~Johanna Spyri~

 
Johanna Spyri is born on 12 June 1827
She died on 7 July 1901
and was an author of children's stories, and is
best known for Heidi. Born Johanna Louise Heusser
in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden,
the setting she later would use in her novels.

In 1852, Johanna Heusser married Bernhard Spyri,
a lawyer. While living in the city of Zürich she began
to write about life in the country. Her first book titled
A Leaf on Vrony's Grave, was published in 1871 and
the following year further stories for both adults and
children appeared, among them the tale of Heidi that
became an instant and enduring success.
Heidi, the story of an orphan girl who lives with her
grandfather in the Alps, is not only famous for its
vivid portrayal of the landscape but also for its
understanding of how children see life and their feelings.

Her husband and her only child, a son named
Bernard, both died in 1884. Alone,
she devoted herself to charitable causes and
wrote over fifty more stories before her death in 1901.
She was interred in the family plot at the
Sihlfeld-A Cemetery in Zürich, Switzerland.
An icon in Switzerland, Johanna Spyri's portrait
was placed on a postage stamp in 1951 and
on a 20 CHF commemorative coin in 2001.

Novels:
A Leaf On Vrony's Grave (1871)
Heidi (1880)
Toni the Little Wood Carver (1920)
Vinzi: A Story of the Swiss Alps (1923)
Dora (1924)
Gritli's Children: A Story of Switzerland (1924)
Veronica (1924)
Jorli: The Story of a Swiss Boy (1926)
Maxa's Children (1926)
Uncle Titus in the Country (1926)
Eveli: The Little Singer (1926)

 

Johanna Spyri died on 7 July 1901 Zürich and is
interred in the family plot at the Sihlfeld-A Cemetery
in Zürich, Switzerland. In 2001 there was a
CHF commemorative coin minted in Spyri's honour.
The Heidi Foundation was established in 1999
"to promote and publicize the story of Heidi,
as conceived by the author, Johanna Spyri,
all over the world."

Johanna Spyri is geboren in Hirzel op 12 juni 1827
en overleden in Zürich op 7 juli 1901
Ze was een Zwitsers schrijfster. Ze schreef onder
andere het beroemde boek Heidi,
dat later ook verfilmd is.

Johanna Spyri was de vierde van zes kinderen
van arts Johann Jacob Heusser en dichteres
Meta Heusser-Schweizer. Ze groeide op in Hirzel,
een dorp in het kanton Zürich. In 1852 trouwde
ze met Johann Bernhard Spyri. Haar eerste verhaal
(Ein Blatt auf Vronys Grab) verscheen pas in 1871,
toen Spyri 44 was. In 1881 schreef ze
Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre, dat een groot
succes werd. Het jaar daarna kwam een vervolg uit,
Heidi kann brauchen was es gelernt hat.
Het boek wordt ook nu nog veel gelezen,
en is meerdere malen verfilmd.

 

Alle boeken en teksten van Johanna Spyri
werpen een kritische, nietsverhullende blik op
Zwitserland en op het leven van mensen tijdens
de vroege industrialisatie. Vooral het lot van kinderen
en jonge meisjes ging Spyri aan het hart. Haar teksten zijn daarom niet alleen interessant vanuit literair oogpunt,
maar ook vanuit de maatschappijgeschiedenis.

Van 1871 tot haar dood in 1901 bracht Spyri
31 boeken, 27 verhalenbundels en 4 brochures uit.

 

 Heidi, an orphan living in a cottage in the Alps
with her grandfather deals with many of the issues
children and adults can relate to. He is overprotective,
and she ends up spending much free time with
Peter in the meadows. When she moves to Frankfurt,
Germany to live with Klara, she has a difficult time
adjusting to the confinement of the city and
discipline of education. Much like Spyri experienced
in real life, Heidi becomes homesick for the freedom
and fresh air of the country. When she returns with Klara,
there is jealousy and conflict intermingled with the
individual pains of growing up. Heidi has sold millions
of copies, inspired many movies, cartoons,
television series, and is translated
to over forty languages.

2 Pictures from the movie ‘Heidi’
2 foto’s uit de film ‘Heidi’