author
Agnes Günther
1863–1911
A German writer remembered for a single, extraordinary success, she left behind a novel that found a huge readership only after her death. Her life moved between Stuttgart, England, Langenburg, and Marburg, and that mix of places and experience fed the romantic and religious mood of her work.
1 Audiobook
Von der Hexe die eine Heilige war
by Agnes Günther
About the author
Born Agnes Breuning in Stuttgart on July 21, 1863, she was the daughter of a businessman and banker and spent part of her youth at schools in Geneva and London. In 1887 she married the theologian Rudolf Günther, and the couple had two sons.
Much of her adult life was shaped by her husband's church and academic work. The family lived in Langenburg while he served as a parish priest there, and later moved to Marburg, where he was appointed professor of church art. She died in Marburg on February 16, 1911, after a long illness.
Agnes Günther is best known for the novel Die Heilige und ihr Narr (The Saint and Her Fool). It was published after her death and became an exceptional popular success, giving her a lasting place in German literary history even though she is chiefly known for this one major work.