Helmi Krohn

Helmi Krohn
Born 31 October 1871
Helsinki
Died 18 October 1967
Helsinki
Nationality Finnish

Anni Helmi Krohn also Helmi Setälä (31 October 1871 – 18 October 1967) was a Finnish writer who wrote fiction, biographies and for children. She was also an editor and publisher. The "secrets of marriage" came as a shock to her and resulted in a novel with autobiographical content describing a woman unhappy with sexuality. She and her husband divorced in 1913.

Life

Krohn was born in Helsinki in 1871 to Julius Krohn. Her father's original language was German but he became a professor of Finnish literature. He died in a sailing accident when she was a teenager. Krohn's brother, Kaarle Krohn was a folklorist whilst her sister, Aino Kallas, was another noted writer.

Helmi Krohn with Vilho and Salme in 1894

In 1892 she married the politician, Eemil Nestor Setälä, and took the name Setälä. During the marriage she had written "Child of Sorrow" which she later explained to a friend, Prof. Zachris Castren, was as autobiographical as she dare. The book described a woman who was surprised to find the "secret of marriage". The heroine, like Helmi, was annoyed that her parents had not told her about sexuality and what happened inside marriage. Helmi commented that writing the book had been a release for her. She describes that book as a "child of joy".[1]

Krohn also wrote letters to Erkki Melartin and Jalmari Finne after 1906 which supply details of her ideas.[1] The following year she became the editor of the magazine Lapland which was a job she held until 1935. From 1909 to 1910 she was the editor-in-chief of the journal Valvoja.

Her divorce in 1913 was an unusual occurrence in Finland at the time. The divorce created financial concerns and she created her first biography that year of[1] the "first Finnish woman poet", Isa Asp.[2] She also lead the publishing company Otava from 1912 to 1919. In 1917 her ex-husband was briefly head of state after the death of Nicholas II.

Krohn was an advocate for Spiritualism. In 1950 she translated a book by Einer Nielsen who was a Danish spiritualist who had been discredited as a fraud. The book Solid Proofs of Survival was his last work and it was published by the Psychic Book Club.[3]

Krohn died in Helsinki in 1967.

References

  1. 1 2 3 John Goodwin (25 June 2012). SAGE Biographical Research. SAGE Publications. pp. 69–77. ISBN 978-1-4462-7592-4.
  2. ↑ Amelia Sanz; Francesca Scott; Suzan van Dijk (15 August 2014). Women Telling Nations. Editions Rodopi. pp. 326–. ISBN 978-94-012-1112-3.
  3. ↑ Einer Nielsen (1950). Solid Proofs of Survival. Psychic Book Club.
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