- Johanna Spyri
Infobox Writer
name = Johanna Louise Heusser
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caption = One of Johanna Spyri most common known portraits.
birthdate = birth date|1827|6|12|df=y
birthplace =Hirzel ,Switzerland
deathdate = death date and age|1901|07|07|1827|07|12|df=y
deathplace =Zürich ,Switzerland
occupation = short story writer, Novelist
movement =Children's Literature
genre =Children's Literature ,Adult Literature
notableworks =Heidi Johanna Spyri (IPA2|johana ʃpiːʁi) (
12 June 1827 –7 July 1901 ) was an author of children's stories, and is best known for "Heidi ". Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area ofHirzel ,Switzerland , as a child she spent several summers in the area aroundChur inGraubünden , the setting she later would use in her novels.Biography
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 theAlps , 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 CHFcommemorative coin in 2001.External links
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* [http://www.classicreader.com/author.php/aut.53/ Works by Johanna Spyri at Classicreader.com]
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