Born: Jan 10, 1797, Schloss Hülshoff, near Münster, Westphalia [Germany]
Died: May 25, 1848, Meersburg, Baden
Annette Elisabeth Freiin von Droste-Hülshoff was a German poet and story-writer, born in Hülshoff, Westphalia. Her intense spirituality is reflected in Gedichte (Poems, 1838) and the later Das geistliche Jahr (The Spiritual Year), a poetry cycle corresponding to the ecclesiastical calendar, posthumously published in 1851. A subsequent collection of Gedichte (1844) reveals her sensitive observation and vivid recording of the natural scenery of her homeland. The novella The Jew’s Beech (1842; trans. 1958) probes the psychological motivation of a murderer. Droste-Hülshoff also wrote the epic poem Walter (1818) and several unfinished poems and prose pieces.