Annemarie Selinko
Annemarie Selinko (September 1, 1914 - July 28, 1986) was an Austrian novelist who wrote a number of best-selling books in German from the 1930s through the 1950s. Although she had been based in Germany, in 1939 at the start of World War II she took refuge in Denmark with her Danish husband, but then in 1943, they again became refugees, this time to Sweden.
Many of her novels have been adapted into movies and all have been translated into numerous languages. Her last work Désirée (1951) was about Désirée Clary, one of Napoleon's lovers and, later, a queen of Sweden. It has been translated into 25 languages and in 1956 was turned into a movie with Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons. It is dedicated to her sister Liselotte, who was murdered by the Nazis.
Bibliography
* Ich war ein häßliches Mädchen (I Was an Ugly Girl), Vienna: Kirschner Verlag, 1937; Made into a film, West Germany, 1955.
* Morgen wird alles besser (Tomorrow is Always Better), 1941; Made into a film, Morgen gaat het beter, Netherlands, 1939
* Heute heiratet mein Mann (My Husband Marries Today), 1943; Made into a film, West Germany, 1956.
* Désirée, 1952; Made into a film, U.S., 1954.
“Es ist sehr nett, verheiratet zu sein. Man muss nur wissen, dass zwei Menschen niemals ein Herz und eine Seele haben können. Sie bleiben immer zwei Leute, zwei Herzen. Es kommt nur darauf an, angenehm nebeneinander zu leben und doch nie allein zu sein.”