Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer

Charlotte Johanna's father diplomat, Bavarian Councillor of War, Ferdinand Friedrich Pfeiffer (1759–1833) was a schoolmate of Schiller at Karlschule, supposedly her father was responsible for saving the manuscript Die Räuber by hiding it in his mattress. When he went blind in 1809, Birch-Pfeiffer read him the classics and by doing so gained a strong literary education. Both father and daughter loved the theater. In 1813 Birch-Pfeiffer's stage debut, trained by Hofschauspieler F. A. Zuccarini, at the Munich Court Theater, Isarthortheater was supported by the Bavarian King, Max Joseph. From 1818 to 1826 she appeared in Prague, Stuttgart, Kassel, Hannover, Berlin, Dresden, and Hamburg as a member of the München Hoftheater playing the lead in tragic roles. In 1825 she married Danish writer and historian, Christian Andreas Birch (1795–1868), the couple begat six children. From 1827 to 1839 Charlotte acted at the Theater an der Wien. From 1837–1842 she worked as the director of the Stadttheater in Zürich. After professionally visiting most of the cities in Germany, in 1844 she accepted an engagement at the royal Berlin Hoftheater, to which she remained attached until her death. Her only surviving child, daughter Wilhelmine von Hillern, also became an actress and writer.

Dramatization of popular novels was her specialty, for which her intimate knowledge of the technical necessities of the stage fitted her. Her plays, adapted and original, fill 23 volumes (Gesammelte dramatische Werke; Leipzig, 1863–1880). Many continued to retain the public favor. Her novels and tales were collected in three volumes (Gesammelte Novellen und Erzählungen; Leipzig, 1863–1865). Among her plays are: Dorf und Stadt (after Berthold Auerbach) Die Frau in Weiss (after Wilkie Collins) Der Glöckner von Notre Dame (after Victor Hugo) Der Goldbauer Die Grille (after George Sand) Die Günstlinge Der Herr Studiosus Hinko Kind des Glücks Steffen Langer aus Glogau oder Der holländische Kamin Der Leiermann und sein Pflegekind Mutter und Sohn Nacht und Morgen (after Edward Bulwer-Lytton) Pfefferrösel Die Waise aus Lowood (after Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre)