Gisela von Arnim (1827–1889)

Gisela von Arnim was born into an important German literary family. She was the youngest of seven children of Achim and Bettina von Arnim. She was not formally educated, being taught only by her sisters. In childhood, she read fairy tales and Romantic poetry, and began to write fairy tales herself as well as plays, some of which were published under pseudonyms. She collaborated with her mother on various fairy tales, most notably the novel Das Leben der Hochgräfin Gritta von Rattenzuhausbeiuns (The Life of the Countess Gritta von Ratsinourhouse, 1826), illustrated together with her future husband. With her sisters, she started the "Kaffeterkreis" or "Kaffeter circle," at first a salon for young women and later a full literary salon that including men; honorary members included Hans Christian Andersen. In 1859, she married Herman Grimm, a prominent art historian and son of Wilhelm Grimm.