author
Adele Schopenhauer
1797–1849
A thoughtful voice from one of Germany’s most literary families, she wrote fairy tales, novels, poems, and memoir-like works while moving through the cultural circles of Weimar and beyond. Her life also left a vivid paper trail of letters, journals, and silhouettes that still fascinate readers today.
1 Audiobook
Eine dänische Geschichte: Roman
by Adele Schopenhauer
About the author
Born in Hamburg in 1797, Adele Schopenhauer was the daughter of novelist Johanna Schopenhauer and the sister of philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. After her father's death, she moved with her mother to Weimar, where they became part of a lively literary world connected with major figures of the time, including Goethe.
She wrote across several forms, including fairy tales, novels, poems, and autobiographical pieces, and she also published under the pseudonyms Henriette Sommer and Adrian van der Venne. Alongside her writing, she was known for her skill in papercutting, an art that became one of her distinctive creative signatures.
In later years she lived partly outside Germany, including time in Italy, before dying in Bonn in 1849. Though she is often introduced through her famous family, her own work and artistic personality give her a place of her own in 19th-century German literary culture.