One of the most famous film adaptations of Heidi is the 1937 Shirley Temple film, which plays up on sentimentality. Charming though it is, it is only loosely based on Johanna Spyri’s novel. [1]
On 12th June 1827, Johanna Heusser was born in the Swiss village of Hirzel which overlooks the Lake of Zurich and has stunning views of the Alps. She is best known for her most successful book, the 1881 children’s novel Heidi.
One of six children, Johanna grew up in a happy, cultured home in a literary environment. Her father, Johann Jakob Heusser, was a well-known and beloved physician in Zurich and her mother, Meta, was a popular songwriter and poet. She attended school in Zurich and was fortunate to receive a comprehensive education that included languages, literature, and the arts.
As she grew older, Johanna’s love of the outdoors led her to explore the breathtaking Swiss landscapes, particularly the Alps. Her journeys through the mountains, valleys, and villages provided firsthand experiences of the Swiss countryside, culture, and traditions. These locations were to become the settings for Heidi.
In 1852, Johanna married Bernhard Spyri, a lawyer, and the couple settled in Zurich, where their son Bernard Diethelm Spyri was born in 1855. Johanna devoted herself to her family while continuing to indulge her passion for writing. The marriage was not a happy one and Johanna found support in her deep friendship with Betsy Meyer, the sister of Swiss poet, Conrad Meyer. Her first published work, A Note on Vrony’s Grave, appeared in 1871.
After the deaths of both her husband and son in 1884, Johanna Spyri dedicated herself completely to writing and charity work. Many of her books and texts take a realistic look at Switzerland and the living conditions of the people there. Although Johanna Spyri is almost exclusively connected with Heidi, she wrote 31 books, 27 volumes of stories and four brochures in 30 years from 1871. She died of cancer on 7 July 1901 at the age of 74.