Heidi
SynopsisPlot
The story of Heidi was written over one hundred years ago, however, it is far from a period piece. In the Swiss Alps, where it is set, a hundred years is just the blink of an eye. We see in her the daughter that every mother dreams of having and every little girl dreams of being.
Story
About this book
Heidi, written by Johanna Spyri and first published in 1881, follows a five-year-old orphan girl who is sent to live with her reclusive grandfather on an Alpine pasture high above the village of Maienfeld in the Swiss Alps. There, surrounded by goats, wildflowers, and open sky, Heidi quickly adapts to mountain life. She befriends Peter, a young goatherd, and gradually draws her withdrawn grandfather back into contact with the people around him.
The story shifts when Heidi is taken to Frankfurt to serve as a companion in a wealthy household. City life, with its enclosed rooms and rigid routines, stands in sharp contrast to the freedom she knew on the mountain. Heidi's longing for the Alps and her grandfather grows steadily, and the tension between these two worlds forms the emotional center of the book.
Spyri wrote the novel in two parts, originally published in German. The setting is specific to the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland, and the landscape plays a central role in the narrative. Heidi has since been translated into dozens of languages and adapted for film, television, and stage in many countries.
