Johanna Spyri

Johanna Spyri (German pronunciation: [joˈhana ˈʃpiːri]) (12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901) was an author of children's stories, and is best known for her book Heidi. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels. In 1852, Johanna Heusser married Bernhard Spyri, a lawyer. While living in the city of Zürich she began to write about life in the country.