Johanna Spyri - Heidi

What other books did she write?

Johanna wrote over twenty‐five books, but today only Heidi is well known. Two books she didn’t write are the two sequels to Heidi — Heidi Grows Up and Heidi’s Children . These were written by her original English translator, Charles Tritten.

Heidi (christened Adelheid) — at the beginning of the story, Heidi is about five years old, and by the end ten or eleven. Heidi is free‐spirited, bright, brave and sympathizes with anyone suffering or in trouble.

Tobias and Adelheid — Heidi’s dead parents.

Detie — Heidi’s twenty‐six‐year‐old aunt. When her parents died, Heidi was left in Detie and Detie’s mother’s care. Detie isn’t bad, exactly, but she is selfish, careless of other people’s feelings and ready to lie to get her own way.

Uncle Alp (Grandfather) — Heidi’s gruff but, at heart, kindly grandfather. In his youth Uncle Alp gambled and drank away his fortune, and in later life when his son, Tobias, died, many local people claimed it was a punishment for the sins of Uncle Alp’s youth. His anger at them is why, as the story starts, he lives alone on the mountain.

Peter — eleven‐year‐old local goatherd. Peter has a good heart, but he isn’t very bright. He can be a little selfish, as well as jealous of Heidi’s friendships with other people.

Bridget — Peter’s mother.

Grannie — Peter’s blind grandmother. Very religious, at the start of the book she is suffering so badly from cold, loneliness and fear that she is finding it hard to be sustained by her faith.

Clara Sesemann — wealthy twelve‐year‐old friend of Heidi’s, who lives in Frankfurt. Detie virtually kidnaps Heidi to be the invalid Clara’s companion — nevertheless, the two girls become firm friends.

Mr Sesemann — Clara’s father, who loves Clara dearly but is often away on business.

Mrs Sesemann (Grandmamma) — a firm and kindly old lady, Mrs Sesemann is Mr Sesemann’s mother and Clara’s grandmother. Following Clara, Heidi calls her ‘Grandmamma’.

Miss Rottenmeier — Mr Sesemann’s housekeeper — a cold, silly and occasionally cruel woman. Heidi is often in trouble with Miss Rottenmeier due to her inexperience of the ways of a wealthy family in a big city.

Mr Usher — Clara’s tutor.

Sebastian and John — manservants in the Sesemanns’ house. Sebastian is an enemy of Miss Rottenmeier and an occasional accomplice of Heidi and Clara’s.

Tinette — snooty maid in the Sesemanns’ house, who looks down on Heidi as a country bumpkin.

Dr Classen — a friend of Mr Sesemann’s and later of Heidi and her grandfather. The great grief in the doctor’s life is the death of his daughter.

Barbie — a friend of Detie’s.

Ursula — an old lady in Dörfli, who used to look after Heidi while Detie was working.

What do you think of the character of Heidi? What qualities does she have that make her such a powerful force for good in the novel — and is she too good to be true?

In Heidi , what are the positive and negative things about living in or near Dörfli, and living in Frankfurt? What does Heidi learn from her trip to Frankfurt?

What did you think of Heidi’s grandfather at the start of Heidi ? How and why does he change during the book?

Who do you think are the baddies? What makes you think these characters are bad?

Heidi is famous for Johanna Spyri’s descriptions of the mountain landscape. Find a descriptive passage you like (for example, when Heidi goes out with Peter and the goats for the first time), and look at the words Johanna Spyri uses. What kinds of positive words does she use, and how? Are there any negative words, and if so, how do these affect the description?

There are many film and TV adaptations of Heidi . Watch one of them and compare it to the original book. Which do you prefer, and why?

Beat Johanna Spyri at her own game! Write a beautiful description of a natural place you’ve been to, a sunset, or a plant or animal you’ve seen.

Choose a scene from the novel and adapt it into a playscript — then act it out!

Heidi’s visits and presents light up blind Grannie’s life. Think of a grown‐up (a parent, relative, friend or neighbour) you could surprise with a gift or do something nice for — and make it happen.

Imagine you are working on the soundtrack for a new film of Heidi . How would you want the music for the mountain scenes to be different to the scenes set in Frankfurt? Find some songs or instrumental music you think would work well on the soundtrack for each place.

Imagine that you and your family are moving house — to a hut like Uncle Alp’s! You’re going to live there for a year. There’s clean water and plenty of wood, but no electricity, and the nearest shop (which only sells basic supplies) is two hours’ walk away. Make a list of everything you’d need to take to keep you alive, comfortable and entertained — but remember, whatever you take you’ve got to carry it up the mountain with you, so pack light!

Lots of things in Switzerland are better now than they were in Johanna Spyri’s day. People have better medical care, cleaner water and more effective sanitation. They’re richer, and they live longer.

One thing, however, that isn’t better is the mountain environment Heidi is set in. The fresh air in the mountains is less fresh today, and the vast expanses of grass, flowers, rocks and snow are less vast, less clean and less empty. And it’s not just Switzerland (which actually looks after its mountains better than most countries). Mountain areas are in danger all over the world. Read on to find out what’s threatening them — and what you can do to help.

Air pollution— our cars, factories and power stations release soot and poisonous gases into the atmosphere. Air pollution causes health problems, and because mountain valleys often trap pollution, people living there are particularly at risk.

Acid rain— air pollution also causes acid rain. Gases such as sulphur dioxide combine with water in the clouds to make deadly acids, which may be carried hundreds of miles before falling in the mountains as acid rain and harming trees, plants and wildlife.

Litter— people have always dropped litter, but today the problem is more serious. There are more of us polluting the world, and many modern materials (such as plastic bottles) don’t decompose naturally.

Mining and quarrying— many mining and quarrying companies who extract useful rocks and minerals from mountains are careful to protect the environment — unfortunately, some are not.