Athalia Theophilia Schwartz, pen nameHieronymus, was a Danish writer, journalist and educator. She was an important female contributor to 19th-century Danish literature, publishing schoolbooks, poetry, drama and short stories. She was employed by Berlingske Tidende as a theatre critic. She also wrote about the conditions and lives of prostitutes in England, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Early life
Athalia Theophilia Schwartz was the daughter of Major Claus Conrad Schwartz, who educated army cadets, and his wife Karen Rasmine Baggesen. Together with her brother and five sisters she was brought up in a well-to-do home where the children were encouraged to gain independence. After attending Frk. Lindes Institut, as the eldest child she took over the education of her brothers and sisters when her father was transferred to Frederikshavn in 1837, and later to Aalborg. In 1843, she opened a small school for girls.
Career
In 1847, she returned to Copenhagen where she took a teachers training course, receiving her diploma the following year. She ran a small girls' school until 1853 when she began to write, publishing school books and fiction while contributing articles on national issues in the press. In 1866 she received the Anckers Scholarship and conducted study trips in England, the Netherlands and Belgium, Her principal area of interest was girls' education, with special attention to schools. Her first published work was Dansk Sproglære, Danish language reader,, a textbook on the Danish language. She went on to publish a number of other textbooks, concentrating on language rather than literature. Schwartz was also a popular author of fiction, several of her works being translated into German and Swedish. Her most popular work was Livsbilleder, a series of short stories, the first volume of which was published in 1852. She also wrote plays, including Ruth, performed at the Royal Danish Theatre in 1854 with Johanne Luise Heiberg in the title role. The most notable aspect of her writing was nevertheless that of a debater. Using the pen name Hieronymus, in 1851 she wrote two short books on Betragtninger over den grasserende Emancipationsfeber and En Contravisite hos Clara Raphael, in which she criticized the author Mathilde Fibiger. Using her own name, she went on to comment on the failings of Danish schools. She also contributed to Berlingske Tidende as a theatre critic and was a regular writer various magazines published by Meïr Aron Goldschmidt .
