Ida Hahn-Hahn (1805–1880)

Ida von Hahn was born in Tressow, Germany, to an old aristocratic family. Her father Count Karl Friedrich von Hahn was a theatrical producer who died in poverty, leaving her destitute. In 1825, she married her wealthy cousin Count Friedrich Wilhelm Adolph von Hahn, which is why she's known as Ida, Countess von Hahn-Hahn. After the birth of a disabled child and a divorce in 1829, she spent some time in a convent and later converted to the Roman Catholic faith. After her return to the world, she traveled extensively through Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, England, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as the Ottoman Empire, and wrote popular travelogues. She became an advocate for the emancipation of women and an admirer of George Sand. She wrote poetry and novels such as Gräfin Faustine (The Countess Faustina, 1840), and became one of the most widely-read authors of her time. She was influenced by the Young Germany movement and her works were influential on the next generation of writers, both male and female.