Annemarie Selinko

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Annemarie Selinko (born September 1, 1914 in Vienna , † July 28, 1986 in Copenhagen ) was an Austrian - Danish writer . Along with Vicki Baum, Selinko was one of the most successful German-speaking entertainment writers of her time.

Her last work, the novel Désirée (1951) about Désirée Clary , Napoleon's former fiancé and later Queen of Sweden, was translated into 25 languages ​​as a world best-seller and filmed in Hollywood in 1954 with Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons . It is dedicated to her sister Liselotte, who was murdered by the Nazis.

Life

Her father Felix was one of the three shareholders of the Selinko Brothers fashion goods company, mother Grete was born Wolf. The family was of the Mosaic faith and only converted to the evangelical faith in later years. After attending elementary school and high school in Vienna, she studied languages ​​and history for a few semesters at the University of Vienna, then worked as a journalist, including as Austria correspondent for the French magazine L'Intransigeant .

When she published the short-term novel I Was An Ugly Girl in 1937 , critics put her on a par with Vicky Baum . The novel was translated into twelve languages ​​and made into a film. When she was in Geneva in 1937 to take some interviews with politicians, she met Erling Kristiansen at an international student conference. After marrying the Danish diplomat Kristiansen in 1938, she lived in Copenhagen, Stockholm , Paris and London . She became a Danish citizen through her marriage. Her second novel in Vienna, Tomorrow everything will be better , was published in 1939, 1940. My husband is getting married today .

When Denmark was occupied by the Germans during World War II , Selinko joined the resistance movement and was briefly imprisoned by the Gestapo in 1943 . She and her husband escaped to Sweden in an open fishing boat and worked for a news agency in Stockholm. Towards the end of the war, she worked as an interpreter for the Red Cross relief organization. In 1948 their son Michael was born, who died in an accident at a young age.

When she died at the age of 72 in her adopted home Denmark, she was buried in the cemetery of the Copenhagen suburb of Hellerup . The bestselling author had devoted her considerable fortune to the Annemarie og Erling Kristiansens Fund , which awards grants to younger employees of the Danish Foreign Ministry and students of economics at the University of Copenhagen. The Mikael Kristiansen Prize commemorates the couple's deceased son.

Works

  • I was an ugly girl. Zeitbildverlag, Vienna 1937.
  • Everything will be better tomorrow. Zeitbildverlag, Vienna 1938.
  • My husband is getting married today. Allert de Lange , Amsterdam 1940. Also as: Today my husband is getting married. New Austria, Vienna 1950.
  • Désirée. Allert de Lange, Amsterdam 1951. Also: Kiepenheuer & Witsch , Cologne 1951. Current edition: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2002, ISBN 3-462-03102-3 . E-book: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-462-30156-4 .

Film adaptations

literature

  • Christian Adam : The dream of the year zero: Authors, bestsellers, readers: The reorganization of the world of books in East and West after 1945. Galiani, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-86971-122-5 , pp. 271–275.
  • Marie-Theres Arnbom : At that time there was home - the world of the Viennese Jewish upper class. Amalthea-Verlag, Vienna 2014, pp. 78–126.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Selinko, Annemarie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Selinko-Kristiansen, Annemarie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-Danish writer
DATE OF BIRTH September 1, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 1986
Place of death Copenhagen