Adelbert von Chamisso

Adelbert von Chamisso (1781-1838), German writer and naturalist, born in Champagne, France. He fled with his parents to Germany during the French Revolution. After a career with the Prussian army, he moved to Switzerland and joined the circle of the exiled French writer Germaine de Staël. In 1814 he wrote his best-known work, Peter Schlemihl's Remarkable Story (trans. 1927), a prose fantasy about a man who sells his shadow to the devil. From 1815 to 1818 Chamisso sailed as botanist on the Russian vessel Rurik on a scientific circumnavigation of the world. On his return he was appointed curator of the botanical gardens in Berlin. Chamisso is also known for his lyrical poetry, especially the cycle Frauenliebe und Leben (Woman's Love and Life, 1830), which the German composer Robert Schumann set to music.