author
Alma M. Karlin
1889–1950
Best known for circling the globe alone in the 1920s, this adventurous Slovenian writer turned years of travel into vivid books, essays, and observations about the wider world. Her life mixed literary ambition, fierce independence, and a remarkable gift for languages.
2 Audiobooks
Mein kleiner Chinese: Ein China-Roman
by Alma M. Karlin
Die Kringhäusler: Drama in drei Akten
by Alma M. Karlin
About the author
Born in Celje in 1889, Alma M. Karlin was a Slovenian writer, traveler, poet, collector, and polyglot. She is remembered as one of the first European women to travel around the world alone, setting out in 1919 and spending years abroad while supporting herself through writing and other work.
Karlin wrote mainly in German and became especially known for her travel writing between the world wars. Her books drew on the places she visited across Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas, and they helped make her a widely read travel author of her time.
Beyond her journeys, she is also remembered for her strong, unconventional personality and wide-ranging interests, including languages and theosophy. She died in 1950, and in Slovenia her legacy has continued through museums, research, and renewed interest in her life and work.