Sophie Wörishöffer

Sophie Wörishöffer. Photo by an unknown photographer

Sophie Wörishöffer b. Andresen (born October 6, 1838 in Pinneberg near Hamburg , † November 8, 1890 in Altona ) was a German writer and author of young books. Pseudonyms used by her are Sophie Andresen , S. Fischer , A. Harder , W. Höffer , Sophie von der Horst , K. Horstmann , W. Noeldechen (Eymers Pseudonym Lexicon).

Life

Sophie Andresen - daughter of the Holstein lawyer Otto Andresen and Clara Antoinette von Liliencron - was a cousin of the poet and novelist Detlev von Liliencron and a niece of the Germanist Rochus von Liliencron . After losing her father at the age of 13, the mother moved with her three children to Altona in 1857. Sophie received the then usual education as a senior daughter and wrote short stories and serial novels for various magazines .

In 1866 she married the architect Albert Fischer Wörishöffer, who died in 1870 and left her penniless. In order to secure a livelihood for herself and her illegitimate son Hugo, who was born in 1871, she devoted herself increasingly to writing . At first she wrote newspaper articles, but also short stories and novels such as “From the experiences of a housewife. A Christmas present for Germany's brides ”. The Velhagen & Klasing publishing house (Bielefeld and Leipzig) became aware of her and commissioned her to rework and expand a book for young people that Max Bischoff had published a few years ago . The book was published again in 1877 under the title "Robert the Ship's Boy Rides and Adventure on the German Merchant and War Fleet" and was a great success for Wörishöffer and the publishing house.

She was also called the " Karl May von Altona".

Since 2016 there has been a Sophie-Wörishöffer-Straße in Altona-Nord .

Artistic creation

From now on, based on a fee of 2,000 Reichsmarks (around 19,700 euros based on today's purchasing power), Velhagen & Klasing wrote a new adventure book for the "mature youth", preferably for boys, almost every year from the pen of Wörishöffer. Since it was believed at the time that such stories could only be written by male authors, the publisher supported this (sales-promoting) opinion by always using the name of the author with S. Wörishöffer and on the title page of every book the The usual reference to other books by the author was introduced with the perhaps even then misleading statement “Author of:”.

The topics selected by Wörishöffer generally had a real, historical background and primarily concerned the European colonial and trade policy of the time. In the framework of the story, mostly in the style of travel adventures of one or more young people, the author interwoven geographical, historical and scientific instructions so skillfully that her books were not only read enthusiastically by the sons of the upper class, but also served them, incidentally to raise their level of knowledge.

The volumes usually had a length of 500 to 600 pages and were provided with 16 or more full-page illustrations; a linen binding with gold embossing completed the equipment. Although the sales price (around nine marks during the author's lifetime , which corresponds to around 89 euros in today's purchasing power) was relatively high, the books were popular with people. In her success, Sophie Wörishöffer was only surpassed by the books by Karl May .

Like Karl May, the author has never seen the countries she describes, she based her descriptions on travelogues known at the time and other literature that was made available to her by her house publisher.

Even after the author's death, Velhagen & Klasing's books saw numerous new editions, and after 1945 some of the stories were reprinted by other publishers.

Works

Youth books

• Robert the cabin boy rides and adventures on the German merchant and war fleet , 1877
• The natural scientist ship or the young Hamburg's voyage with the “Hammonia” to their father's possessions in the South Seas , 1880
• On the warpath. An Indian story from the far west , 1881
• The book of the good man. Pictures from sea life , 1882
• All across India. Odds of two young German light sailors in the Indian wonderland , 1884
• Onnen Visser, the smuggler's son from Norderney , 1885
• Through jungle and desert sand , 1886
• Lionel Forster, the Quarteron. A story from the American Civil Wars , 1887
• A reunion in Australia , 1888
• The diamonds of the Peruvian. Trips through Brazil and Peru , 1889 ( ULB Münster )
• Among corsairs. Odd journeys, adventures and battles on the South Seas and experiences of Christian slaves in Tripoli , 1890
• In the golden land of California. Journeys and fates of gold-seeking emigrants , 1891

Stories and novels for adults

• From the experience of a housewife. A Christmas present for Germany's brides , 1874
• Stock supplies , novellas, 1874
• A double marriage in the Werkenthin house , novella, 1875
• On the Abyss , novella, 1878
• The Attorney's Daughters, short story, 1884
• From Sex to Sex , novel, 1888
• The Fathers Guilt , short story, 1892
• Demon Money , narrative, 1893
• Sensitive , Roman, 1891
• Secret of the House of Wolfram , Roman, 1897
• The Curse of Beauty , novel, 1901

Translations

Sweden

• 1894: Flykten ur Siberia. En deporterad familjs öden och Äfventyr; öfversättning af Oscar Guldbrand
• 1894: Onnen Visser. Smugglarsonen från Norderney; from tyskan af Ebba Wester
• 1894: Genome India. Två lättmatrosers irrfärder och Äfventyr; svensk edit af Oscar Guldbrand
• 1895: På krigsstråt. Jaktäfventyr och strider bland North America's Indians; svensk edit af OHG
• 1917: Skeppspojken Roberts aventyr

Netherlands

• 1887: Gered uit Siberië. Lotgevallen van eene banish family
• 1887: Onno Visser. De smokkelaarszoon van Norderney
• 1887: Lionel Forster, de kleurling. Eene is divorced from America's burgeroorlog
• 1888: Een niezien in Australië
• 1889: De diamanten van den Peruaan. Daughters door Brazilië en Peru
• 1890: Onder zeeroovers. Daughters, avonturen en vechten in de Zuidzee en lotgevallen van christenslaven in Tripoli
• 1891: Californie. Daughters in lotgevallen van landverhuizers in het goudland
• 1891: Op het oorlogspad. An Indian divorce is uit het Verre Westen
• approx. 1891: Robert de scheepsjongen. Daughters in avonturen van a Duitschen matroos
• 1892: Talk! Dooltocht van twee jonge lichtmatrozen door de Indian wonderwereld
• circa 1893: De verrader. Een verhaal uit de Far-West
• 1893: Een neitherzien in Australië
• 1893: De diamanten van den Peruaan. Daughters by Brazilië
• 1894: De Hammonia, of De vaart in de Stille Zuidzee
• circa 1894: Robert de scheepsjongen. Zijn reizen en avonturen
• ca.1895: Door wouden en woestijnen
• approx. 1910: Heroes of the kust. Een verhaal uit het oost-Friesche visschersleven

Denmark

• 1907: Hemmeligheden
• 1907: The most recent Arnstein. Fortælling

Revisions

The following new editions are currently (Feb. 2011) available in bookshops:

• Onnen Visser, the smuggler's son from Norderney (1997) Verlag Schuster, Leer. ISBN 3-7963-0329-3
• Through the jungle and desert sand (AVP 6, 2008), Pockau adventure publishing house, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-05-0
• On the war path (AVP 7, 2008), Pockau Adventure Publishing House, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-06-7
• Across India (AVP 8, 2008), Pockau Adventure Publishing House, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-07-4
• Among pirates and cannibals (AVP 9, 2008), Pockau adventure publishing house, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-08-1
• The diamonds of the Peruvian (AVP 10, 2008), Pockau adventure publishing house, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-09-8
• In Goldland California (AVP 16, 2009), Pockau Adventure Publishing, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-15-9
• Rescued from Siberia (AVP 17, 2009), Pockau Adventure Publishing House, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-16-6
• The smuggler's son from Norderney (AVP 18, 2009), Pockau adventure publishing house, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-17-3
• Lionel, the white slave (AVP 19, 2009), Pockau adventure publishing house, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-18-0
• Das Naturforscherschiff (AVP 20, 2009), Pockau Adventure Publishing House, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-19-7
• Der Korsar (AVP 23, 2009), Pockau Adventure Publishing House, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-22-7
• Robert, the cabin boy (AVP 24, 2009), Pockau adventure publishing house, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-23-4
• The song of the good man (AVP 25, 2009), Pockau adventure publishing house, Pockau. ISBN 978-3-941031-24-1

literature

• Klaus Doderer (ed.): Lexicon of children's and youth literature. Vol. III, pp. 657, 820-823. Beltz, Weinheim u. a. 1979. ISBN 3-407-56513-5
• Nicole Grewling: Inventing America. German Racism and Colonial Dreams in Sophie Wörishöffer's Im Goldlande California (1891) . In: Rob McFarland, Michelle Stott James (eds.): Sophie Discovers America. German-Speaking Women Write the New World. Camden House, Rochester, NY 2014, pp. 111-124. ISBN 1571135863 .
• Karin Tuxhorn: With Sophie Wörishöffer into adventure land. Familiar homeland, strange landscapes, unknown ethnicities and cultures . Publishing house Dr. Kovac, Hamburg 2008. ISBN 978-3-8300-3560-2

Web links

Wikisource: Sophie Wörishöffer  - Sources and full texts

• Literature by and about Sophie Wörishöffer in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by Sophie Wörishöffer in the Gutenberg-DE project
• Works by Sophie Wörishöffer at Zeno.org .
• Sophie Wörishöffer. In: FemBio. Women's biography research (with references and citations).
• Books by S. Wörishöffer (with illustrations)
• Sophie Wörishöffer In: 19th century adventure literature for young people
• Sophie Wörishöffer in a collection of German robinsonades

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Children's and Young People's Literature Research 2009/2010
2. ^ Statistics Office North: Street and area index of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg