Marlen Haushofer

Marlen Haushofer (born Marie Helene Frauendorfer; 11 April 1920 – 21 March 1970) was an Austrian author, most famous for her novel The Wall (1963).

She attended Catholic boarding school in Linz, and went on to study German literature in Vienna and in Graz.

In 1952, she published her first book, Das fünfte Jahr, which earned her the Österreichische Förderungspreis für Literatur in 1953.

She went on to publish her first novel, A Handful of Life in 1955, and in 1956, she won the Theodor Körner Prize for her contributions to art and culture.

[4] In a letter written to a friend in 1961, Marlen describes the difficulty with its composition: I am writing on my novel and everything is very cumbersome because I never have much time, and mainly because I can not embarrass myself.

Her writing has influenced authors like Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, who dedicated one of her Princess Plays to Haushofer.