Helen Zimmern
Encyclopedia
Helen Zimmern was a German
-British
writer and translator.
lace merchant. She was naturalized upon coming of age. She was the sister of the suffragist Alice Zimmern
and a cousin of the political scientist Alfred Eckhard Zimmern
. Her first appearance in print was a story for Once a Week
, and she was soon writing for the Argosy
and other magazines. A series of children's stories, first published 1869-71 in Good Words for the Young, were reprinted as Stories in Precious Stones (1873) and followed by another collection, Told by the Waves. A series of tales from the Edda
appeared in Old Merry's Monthly in 1872, before being similarly republished.
In 1873 Zimmern began writing critical articles, particularly on German literature
, for the Examiner
. She would also write for Fraser's Magazine
, Blackwood's Magazine
, the Athenaeum
, the Spectator
, St James's, Pall Mall Magazine, the World of Art, the Italian Rassegna Settimanale and various German papers. Through her advocacy and translations, Zimmern made European culture - whether that of Germany, or, increasingly, Italy
- accessible to English
speakers. She lectured on Italian art in Britain and Germany, and translated Italian drama, fiction and history. 'Jewish Home Life,' an 1881 Fraser's contribution, criticized Germans for their anti-Semitism and urged Jewish assimilation. She befriended Friedrich Nietzsche
, two of whose books she would later translate, in Switzerland
in the mid-1880s. By the end of the decade she had settled in Florence
, where she was associated with the Corriere della Sera
and also edited the Florence Gazette. In later life she defended Italian values against what she saw as the threat of German expansionism.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer and translator.
Biography
Zimmern and her parents emigrated in 1850 to Britain, where her father became a NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
lace merchant. She was naturalized upon coming of age. She was the sister of the suffragist Alice Zimmern
Alice Zimmern
Alice Zimmern was an English writer, translator and suffragist.-Background and education:Zimmern was born in Nottingham, the youngest of the three daughters of the lace merchant Hermann Theodore Zimmern, a German Jewish immigrant, and his wife Antonia Marie Therese Regina, née Leo...
and a cousin of the political scientist Alfred Eckhard Zimmern
Alfred Eckhard Zimmern
Sir Alfred Eckhard Zimmern was a British classical scholar and historian, and political scientist writing on international relations....
. Her first appearance in print was a story for Once a Week
Once A Week (magazine)
Once A Week was an English weekly illustrated literary magazine published by Bradbury and Evans. According to John Sutherland, "[h]istorically the magazine's main achievement was to provide an outlet for [an] innovative group of illustrators [in] the 1860s."The magazine was founded in consequence...
, and she was soon writing for the Argosy
Argosy (magazine)
Argosy was an American pulp magazine, published by Frank Munsey. It is generally considered to be the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a general information periodical entitled The Golden Argosy, targeted at the boys adventure market.-Launch of Argosy:In late September 1882,...
and other magazines. A series of children's stories, first published 1869-71 in Good Words for the Young, were reprinted as Stories in Precious Stones (1873) and followed by another collection, Told by the Waves. A series of tales from the Edda
Edda
The term Edda applies to the Old Norse Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, both of which were written down in Iceland during the 13th century in Icelandic, although they contain material from earlier traditional sources, reaching into the Viking Age...
appeared in Old Merry's Monthly in 1872, before being similarly republished.
In 1873 Zimmern began writing critical articles, particularly on German literature
German literature
German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...
, for the Examiner
Examiner
The Examiner was a weekly paper founded by Leigh and John Hunt in 1808. For the first fifty years it was a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles, but from 1865 it repeatedly changed hands and political allegiance, resulting in a rapid decline in readership and loss of...
. She would also write for Fraser's Magazine
Fraser's Magazine
Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country was a general and literary journal published in London from 1830 to 1882, which initially took a strong Tory line in politics. It was founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn in 1830 and loosely directed by Maginn under the name Oliver Yorke until about 1840...
, Blackwood's Magazine
Blackwood's Magazine
Blackwood's Magazine was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine. The first number appeared in April 1817 under the editorship of Thomas Pringle and James Cleghorn...
, the Athenaeum
Athenaeum (magazine)
The Athenaeum was a literary magazine published in London from 1828 to 1921. It had a reputation for publishing the very best writers of the age....
, the Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, St James's, Pall Mall Magazine, the World of Art, the Italian Rassegna Settimanale and various German papers. Through her advocacy and translations, Zimmern made European culture - whether that of Germany, or, increasingly, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- accessible to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
speakers. She lectured on Italian art in Britain and Germany, and translated Italian drama, fiction and history. 'Jewish Home Life,' an 1881 Fraser's contribution, criticized Germans for their anti-Semitism and urged Jewish assimilation. She befriended Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, two of whose books she would later translate, in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in the mid-1880s. By the end of the decade she had settled in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, where she was associated with the Corriere della Sera
Corriere della Sera
The Corriere della Sera is an Italian daily newspaper, published in Milan.It is among the oldest and most reputable Italian newspapers. Its main rivals are Rome's La Repubblica and Turin's La Stampa.- History :...
and also edited the Florence Gazette. In later life she defended Italian values against what she saw as the threat of German expansionism.
Books
- The Hansa Towns, 1891
- Arthur SchopenhauerArthur SchopenhauerArthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher known for his pessimism and philosophical clarity. At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the four separate manifestations of reason in the phenomenal...
, his Life and his Philosophy, 1876 - Gotthold Ephraim LessingGotthold Ephraim LessingGotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
, his Life and his Works, 1878 - (ed.) The Discourses of Joshua ReynoldsJoshua ReynoldsSir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
- Tales from the Edda
- The Italy of the Italians, 1906
- The New Italy, 1918
Translations
- Half-Hours with Foreign Novelists, 1880. (Sections of various novels, with her sister Alice Zimmern)
- Nietzsche, Beyond Good and EvilBeyond Good and EvilBeyond Good and Evil is a book by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, first published in 1886.It takes up and expands on the ideas of his previous work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but approached from a more critical, polemical direction....
, 1906 - Nietzsche, Human, All Too HumanHuman, All Too HumanHuman, All Too Human , subtitled A Book for Free Spirits , is a book by 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, originally published in 1878...
, 1909 - FerdowsiFerdowsiFerdowsi was a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran and related societies.The Shahnameh was originally composed by Ferdowsi for the princes of the Samanid dynasty, who were responsible for a revival of Persian cultural traditions after the...
, ShahnamehShahnamehThe Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
(The Epic of Kings), 1883, Iran Chamber Society, MIT.