Voigt-Diederichs, Helene (1875–1961)

German novelist and short-story writer . Born in 1875 in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; died in 1961; educated at home; married Eugen Diederichs (a publisher), in 1898 (separated 1911).

Selected writings:

(poetry) Unterstrom (Undercurrent, 1901): (novels) Regine Vosgerau (1901), Dreiviertel Stund vor Tag (Three-Quarters of an Hour Before Daybreak, 1905), Auf Marienhoff: das Leben einer deutschen Mutter (Marienhoff, the Life of a German Mother, 1925), Ring um Roderich (A Ring about Roderich, 1929), Der Verlöbnis (The Engagement, 1942), Waage des Lebens (The Scale of Life, 1952); (story collections) Kinderland (The Land of Children, 1907), Mann und Frau (Husband and Wife, 1921), Der grüne Papagei (The Green Parrot, 1934), Der Zaubertrank (The Enchanted Drink, 1948), Die Bernsteinkette (The Amber Necklace, 1951); (travel books) Wandertage in England (Wandering in England, 1912), Gast in Siebenbürgen (Visitor in Siebenbürgen, 1936).

Helene Voigt-Diederichs was born in 1875 in Marienhoff, a family estate in Schleswig-Holstein, and lived and studied there with private tutors until she was 14. After several years of travel throughout Europe, she married Leipzig publisher Eugen Diederichs in 1898. The couple moved to Jena, where they lived until separating in 1911. Voigt-Diederichs then moved to Brunswick, returning to live in Jena only in 1931.

Voigt-Diederichs' writing career began during her marriage. She published her only volume of poetry, Unterstrom (Undercurrents), and the novel Regine Vosgerau in 1901, beginning a writing life that was to span 50 years. With a literary style described as typically North German and marked by a cool, somber restraint, Voigt-Diederichs' work centered on the life of rural communities and the problems of marriage; many of her books were based on her own experiences, like Regine Vosgerau and Dreiviertel Stund vor Tag (Three-Quarters of an Hour Before Daybreak, 1905). In her 1925 book Auf Marienhoff: das Leben einer deutschen Mutter (Marienhoff, the Life of a German Mother), she described her mother's life, and also explored marital conflicts in the stories in Mann und Frau (Husband and Wife, 1921) and in the novel Ring um Roderich (A Ring about Roderich, 1929). Voigt-Diederichs is also known for her stories about children, such as Kinderland (The Land of Children, 1907) and Der grüne Papagei (The Green Parrot, 1934), and for her travel books Wandertage in England (Wandering in England, 1912) and Gast in Siebenbürgen (Visitor in Siebenbürgen, 1936). She died in 1961.

sources:

Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature. 2nd ed. NY: Columbia University Press, 1980.

Paula Morris , D.Phil., Brooklyn, New York