Born: 26 January 1783, Germany
Died: 28 January 1856
Country most active: Germany
Also known as: Wilhelmine Christiane von Klencke
The following is excerpted from A Cyclopædia of Female Biography, published 1857 by Groomsbridge and Sons and edited by Henry Gardiner Adams.
CHEZY, WILHELMINE CHRISTINE VON, A German poetess, whose maiden name was Von Klenke, was born at Berlin, January 26th., 1783. She married Mr. Von Haslfker, but they had lived only a short time together, when they applied for and obtained a divorce. She was afterwards married to the celebrated French orientalist. Von Chezy; but this second marriage proved no more happy in its results than the first; and, according to a mutual agreement between her and her husband, she was again divorced. She then devoted herself to the education of her two sons by her second husband; they did honour to their instructor, and have since obtained considerable literary fame.
Frau Von Chezy lived alternately in Munich, Vienna, and Paris. She was, on her mother’s side, a grandchild of the celebrated poetess Frau Karsch, whose talents seem to have descended to her. As a writer, she is best known by the name of Helmina, under which she has written tales and romances in verse. Her writings are characterized by a fertile imagination, a pleasing style, and warm feeling; though they cannot always bear the test of a critical examination. She has also written a few spirited prose works, and the opera Euryanthe, which was set to music by Von Weber. The best of her works are “The Martinman Birds,” the “Six noble Employments,” and “Recollections of Vienna.” She died in 1849.
The following is excerpted from A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, published in 1900 and edited by George Grove.
CHEZY, Wilhelmine (or Helmine) Christine von, a literary lady of very eccentric life, née von Klencke 1783, at Berlin, married at 16, and divorced the next year; married again at 22, in Paris, to Antoine L. de Chézy, a well-known Orientalist, and was divorced again in 1810. She spent the rest of her life between Heidelberg, Berlin, Dresden, Vienna (1823–28), Munich and Paris, and died at Geneva, 1856. Her claim to notice here is her having written the play of ‘Rosamunde,’ for which Schubert composed his music, and the libretto of ‘Euryanthe’ for Weber. In neither case was the genius of the musician sufficient to save the piece from failure. See Hellborn’s ‘Schubert,’ chap, xi; Max M. von Weber’s ‘Carl Maria von Weber’ (1864), ii. 371, 517, 522, &c.; and her own ‘Unvergessenes … an meinem Leben,’ 1858.