Sophie von Adelung


Sophie von Adelung was a German writer and painter. She also wrote under the pseudonym S. Aden.
Sophie von Adelung was born in Stuttgart, into a family of Russian origin; her father, Nikolaus von Adelung, was secretary to Queen Olga, and was a privy councillor in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In addition to his other work, Nikolaus was literary executor of his father, Friedrich von Adelung. Sophie's mother, Alexandrine von Schubert, was the daughter of General Friedrich von Schubert. Other children of the marriage between Alexandrine and Nikolaus included a son, named after his father, who became a noted entomologist, and another daughter, Olga, with whom Sophie collaborated on several works.
Her books, which she often illustrated herself, were mainly directed at young people. She also translated stories into German from Russian. She wrote regularly for magazines such as Die Frau and Fürs Haus. Some of her work appeared in 's Töchter-Album.
Her circle included the pianist Maria von Harder, a former pupil of Chopin, whose memories of the composer were recorded by von Adelung, and her own cousin, Sofia Kovalevskaya, who visited her Adelung relatives as a young woman. Sophie von Adelung produced a memoir of her cousin in 1896, after Kovalevskaya's death.

Works

Novels and plays