Reventlow, Franziska von (1871–1918)

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Reventlow, Franziska von (1871–1918)

German novelist and diarist. Name variations: Franziska Gräfin zu Reventlow; Franziska gräfin von Reventlow; Franziska zu Reventlov. Born Fanny Liane Wilhelmine Sophie Adrienne Auguste Comtesse zu Reventlow, May 18, 1871, in Husumer Castle, Germany; died July 26, 1918, in Ascona, Italy; dau. of Detlev F. Count zu Reventlow, and Emilie Julia Anna Luise zu Reventlow; m. Walter Lübke, May 22, 1894 (div. 1897); children: Rolf (b. 1897).

Daughter of aristocratic family who lived a bohemian life with son after marriage ended; scandalized Germany with countless affairs; lived in various places, including the Greenwich Village of Germany, Munich's Schwabing; her writing is essentially autobiographical and retains its value as a mirror to its time; her humor is sharp and still effective; works include Ellen Olestjerne (1903), Herrn Dames Aufzeichnungen (1913), and Von Paul zu Pedro (1912); also trans. works of Maupassant, Prévost and Anatole France into German.

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