Lewald, Fanny (1811-1889)

Lewald, Fanny

NOVELIST, ESSAYIST (GERMANY)

BORN 24 Mar 1811, Königsberg (now: Kaliningrad, Russia) - DIED 5 Aug 1889, Dresden, Sachsen
BIRTH NAME Marcus, Fanny Mathilde Auguste
GRAVE LOCATION Wiesbaden, Hessen: Alter Friedhof, Platter Strasse

Fanny Lewald was the oldest of the nine children of the Jewish merchant David Marcus and his wife Zipora Assur. In 1829 Fanny converted to the protestant Christian faith and in 1831 her father changed the family name to Lewald. Fanny published several articles in the Europa magazine that was directed by her cousin August Lewald (1792-1871). In 1843 her novels "Clementine" and "Jenny" were published anonymously. Determined to become a professional witer she left Köningsberg for Berlin. There she was invited to the salons of Henriette Herz and Sara Levy. She also met Franz Liszt after an invitation by Fanny Mendelssohn.

In 1845 she met the author Therese von Bacheracht who became a close friend until her death in 1852. In 1845 and 1846 she travelled in Italy. In Rome she met the critic and author Adolf Stahr. They started an affair, but he was married and had five children. They saw each only for a few weeks each year until Stahr left his family and came to her in Berlin in 1852. In 1855 he was able to divorce his first wife and he and Fanny married.

In 1848 she witnessed the outbreak of the revolution in France. n Paris she befrieded Heinrich Heine. She also witnessed the revolution in Berlin and in 1850 she published an account in "Erinnerungen aus dem Jahr 1848" ("Memories of the Year 1848"). Soon afterwards in Weimar she and Therese met prince Carl Alexander and this meeting resulted in a correspondence that lasted for fourty years.

With Stahr she travelled in Germany, England, France, Italy and Switzerland. Her novel "Wandlungen" was published in 1853. In 1862 she published the autobiographical "Meine Lebensgeschichte". She often wrote about social questions and in both "Osterbriefe für die Frauen" (1863) and "Für und wider die Frauen" (1870) she demanded rights for women. Stahr died in 1876 and was buried at the Old Cemetery in Wiesbaden. Fanny lived until 1889 and died in Dresden. She was buried next to her husband.

Family
• Husband: Stahr, Adolf (1855-1876)

Related persons
• knew Börne, Ludwig
• met Goethe, Ottilie von
• criticized Hahn-Hahn, Ida
• visited Herz, Henriette
• was a friend of Laube, Heinrich
• was a friend of Liszt, Franz
• met Schopenhauer, Adele
• visited Unger, Caroline
• was a friend of Varnhagen von Ense, Karl-August

Images
The grave of Fanny Lewald and Adolf Stahr at the Alter Friedhof, Wiesbaden. Picture by Androom (26 Jul 2018)	The grave of Fanny Lewald and Adolf Stahr at the Alter Friedhof, Wiesbaden. Picture by Androom (26 Jul 2018)