Ricarda Huch.

In 1892, Ricarda Huch earned a doctorate in history from the University of Zurich, where she was the first female student admitted. Born on July 18, 1864, in Brunswick to Emilie Huch and Richard Huch, she grew up in a wealthy family that valued education. She studied history, philosophy, and philology.

Huch began publishing poetry under the pseudonyms R. I. Carda and Richard Hugo before establishing herself as a novelist and historian. Her major works include the novel Der Fall Deruga, filmed in 1938, and The Last Summer, adapted into a 1954 film. In 1931, she became the first woman admitted to the Prussian Academy of Literature. She also served as President of the first Congress of German writers in Berlin.

During the Weimar Republic, Huch opposed the Nazi regime through her writing, becoming known as an anti-Nazi critic. She continued producing historical and literary works until her death.

Huch married her cousin Richard Huch, but the marriage was unhappy. She later had a relationship with Italian dentist Ermanno Ceconi, with whom she had a daughter, Marietta Ceconi, born on September 9, 1898. After divorcing Ceconi, she lived with her daughter in various European homes. She had two siblings: Lilly Huch and Rudolf Huch. Huch had been in love with her cousin Richard for a long time; he married her sister Lilly, and she later married him.

Thomas Mann called Ricarda Huch Germany’s first lady on her 60th birthday. She earned the Goethe Prize, the Goethe Medal for Art and Science 1932, the Wilhelm Raabe Prize 1944, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Jena for her anti-Nazi stance and literary contributions. Her achievements created new opportunities for women in academia and the literary world. Scholars still study her novels and histories for their insight and literary merit.