Vinzi Illustrated Edition

Johanna Louise Spyri (nee Heusser, 1827-1901) was a Swiss-born author of novels, notably children's stories, and is best known for her book Heidi. Born in Hirzel, a rural area in the canton of Zurich, as a child she spent several summers near Chur in Graubunden, the setting she would later use in her novels. After her marriage to Bernhard Spyri, a lawyer, she lived in Zurich and began to write about life in the country. Her first story was published in 1880, soon to be followed by others for both adults and children, including Heidi (1881). Written in four weeks, Heidi tells the story of an orphan girl who lives with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps and it is famous for its vivid portrayal of the landscape. After the death of Spyri's husband and only child in 1884 she devoted herself to charitable causes and wrote over 50 more stories before her death in 1901. Vinzi, subtitled A Story of the Swiss Alps, was first published in 1892 and is reprinted from the American J B Lippincott edition of 1923, translated by Elisabeth P Stork and with 8 full-page illustrations by Maria L Kirk reproduced in black and white.