Die Wahlverwandtschaften
Her father was a superintendent in her birthplace of Züllichau, Lower Silesia. Orphaned in infancy, she was brought up in the house of the publisher Carl Friedrich Ernst Frommann in Jena. In 1807 she came to Weimar, where she met Goethe, who presented her with some sonnets. She also served as an inspiration for the character of "Ottilie" in his "Elective Affinities".