An interesting biography of a woman active in Germany around 1870s-90s

October 19, 2023 12:01 PM

In need of a good biography to read, and what I'm after is one about a woman in Germany / the German Empire in the 1870s-90s. Needs to be in English. Any profession, arts, sciences, politics, unpaid local organiser or whatever, though not someone primarily known as an adjunct to her husband. Does not need to be a German woman but does need to be living and working in Germany in that rough time period. Not an autobiography or family memoir, or fiction. A group biography of a small group of women might work. Thank you.
posted by paduasoy to Writing & Language (6 answers total)

Clara Wieck Schumann's life story (1819-1896) is fascinating. I read a biography in German that is not available in English but found this one here.
posted by 15L06 at 1:48 PM on October 19, 2023

Reich's Clara Schumann (1819-1896; she performed throughout the 1870s and 1880s, and taught piano in Frankfurt late 1870s-early 1890s); more Schumann resources at the Library of Congress
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:00 PM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

Rosa Luxemburg: The Biography by J.P. Nettl
posted by plant or animal at 2:07 PM on October 19, 2023 [3 favorites]

Emmy Noether Here are a bunch of different biographical books to choose from.
posted by effluvia at 3:13 PM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

Woman and Modernity, The (Life)Styles of Lou Andreas-Salomé (Biddy Martin)
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:27 PM on October 19, 2023

At the tail end of your period of interest; there's a 20 page chapter about Clara Immerwahr (1870-1915) in the 2017 book One Hundred Years of Chemical Warfare: Research, Deployment, Consequences. "Clara Immerwahr: A Life in the Shadow of Fritz Haber". She was the first German woman to get a PhD in chemistry. She is "not someone primarily known as an adjunct to her husband" [in her case a Nobel-winning scientist and a horrible person] but rather as a role model for women fighting their principled corner in a world stacked against them. Not easy reading.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:31 AM on October 20, 2023