Annis Lee Wister

{{Infobox person

| name = Annis Lee Wister

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = October 9, 1830

| birth_name = Annis Lee Furness

| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = November 15, 1908

| death_place = Wallingford, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| resting_place =

| resting_place_coordinates =

| education =

| known_for = Translated 42 books of German popular novels into English

| spouse = Caspar Wister

| parents = {{plainlist|

William Henry Furness
Annis P. Jenks

}}

| relations = {{plainlist|

}}

Annis Lee Wister (October 9, 1830 - November 15, 1908) née Annis Lee Furness, was an American translator who published 42 books of German popular novels translated into English. Her books were published by J. B. Lippincott & Co. and became best sellers targeted toward women. She was the most well known translator of German popular fiction in the United States at the time.

Early life

Wister was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 8, 1830,{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Wister, Annis Lee|year=1889}} to Reverend William Henry Furness and Annis P. Jenks.{{cite web |title=Furness, William Henry (1802-1896) |url=https://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/biographies/william-henry-furness-2/ |website=www.harvardsquarelibrary.org |publisher=Harvard Square Library |access-date=31 March 2025}} She was educated mostly at home by her father.{{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Wister, Annis Lee}} As a child, she translated Struwwelpeter from German.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=218}} During the American Civil War, Wister worked in a hospital.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=218}}

Career

Joshua Ballinger Lippincott, of J. B. Lippincott & Co., partnered with Wister to translate the popular stories of E. Marlitt written in the Ernst Keil published German magazine Die Gartenlaube. Her first publications in 1868 were the translations of E. Marlitt's The Old Mam'selle's Secret and Gold Elsie.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=216}} In 1869, she contributed translations of the German serialized story Only No Love to Lippincott's Monthly Magazine.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=219}}

In order to fuel the growing American appetite for German popular novels, she expanded her list of authors to translate to include Claire von Glumer, Ludwig Harder, Eva Hartner, Wilhemine Heimburg, E. Juncker, Fanny Lewald, Ursula Zoge von Manteuffel, E. Oswald, Golo Raimund, Hedwig Schobert, Ossip Schubin, and Ernst Wichert.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=230}} Her works became best sellers targeted toward women interested in reading for leisure with stories filled with uplifting morals as well as cultural and social information.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=223}}

She gained status as a literary critic of German novels. Advertisements for her books stated, "Mrs. Wister shows both admirable taste and unusual knowledge of current German literature in the novels which she selects for translation."{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|pp=228-229}} She was known for not just providing a strict translation from German, but instead adding her own literary style to adapt the language to appeal to American audiences.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|pp=233-234}}

She was the most well known translator of German popular fiction in the United States at the time. She translated all ten of the novels of E. Marlitt{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=216}} and an additional 32{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=220}} popular German novels written mostly by women.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=216}} She worked at an extremely high rate with 38 of her 42 books published between 1868 and 1891.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=220}}

In 1892, Lippincott re-released Wister's works in a boxed set with the ornamental covers of each book in different colors for easy recognition. The boxed set highlighted Wister's name on the cover, with the original German authors names relegated to the title page.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|pp=227-228}} In 1893, the State of Pennsylvania sent Wister's translation of E. Marlitt's ten novels to the World's Columbian Exposition for representation in the Library of the Women's Building.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=223}} She did not publish anything for 16 years from 1891 until 1907 when she released her final book, The Lonely House: after the diaries of Herr Professor Dollnitz, a translation of Adolf Streckfuss' Das einsame Haus: nach den Tagebuchern des Herrn Professor Dollnitz.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=231}}

She died on November 15, 1908,{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Wister, Annis Lee Furness}} at her father's house in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, where she had lived for several years.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=216}}

Personal life

She married Dr. Caspar Wister in 1854. He was a fellow at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=218}} and a descendant of Caspar Wistar, a glassmaker who emigrated to the United States in 1717. In 1869, her thirteen year old son, Caspar, died of what was described as "consumption of the bowels", most likely dysentery.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=220}} Her husband died in 1888.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=218}}

Legacy

Her correspondence to her brother, Horace Howard Furness, is held at the Annenberg Rare Book Library at the University of Pennsylvania.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=218}} Her correspondence to the famous physician, Silas Weir Mitchell, is held at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.{{sfn|Tatlock|2012|pp=217-218}}

Publications

Georg Blum and Ludwig Wahl, [https://books.google.com/books?id=44sAAAAAMAAJ Seaside and Fireside Fairies] (Philadelphia, 1864)
E. Merlitt, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gold%20Elsie/dRIqAAAAYAAJ Gold Elsie], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1869
Wilhelmine von Hillern, [https://books.google.com/books?id=MnOKrgEACAAJ Only a Girl, or a Physician for the Soul] (1870)
Julie Adeline von Volckhausen, Why Did He Not Die, Or, the Child from the Ebraergang (1871){{sfn|Tatlock|2012|p=220}}
E. Marlitt, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The%20Little%20Moorland%20Princess/4FITAAAAYAAJ The Little Moorland Princess], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1872
Friedrich Wilhelm Hackländer, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Enchanting%20and%20Enchanted/NKoWAAAAYAAJ Enchanting and Enchanted], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1874
Fanny Lewald, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hulda%20Or%20The%20Deliverer%20A%20Romance%20After%20t/VyH7EAAAQBAJ Hulda; or, The Deliverer], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1875
E. Marlitt, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IlOfxAEACAAJ The Second Wife] (1874)
E. Marlitt, [https://www.loc.gov/item/04016863/ The Old Mamselle's Secret], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1875
E. Marlitt, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Countess%20Gisela/8J4XAAAAYAAJ The Countess Gisela], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1876
Adolph Streckfuss, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Castle%20Hohenwald/62MTAAAAYAAJ Castle Hohenwald A Romance], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1879
E. Marlitt, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The%20Bailiff%20s%20Maid/uOJ8YwX3tP0C The Bailiff's Maid], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1881
Golo Raimund, [https://books.google.com/books?id=I1ATAAAAYAAJ From Hand to Hand], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1882
Ursula Zoge Von Manteuffel, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Violetta/Kuf9yaB5GA8C Violetta A Romance], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1886
Ernst Wichert, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-H9cAAAAMAAJ The Green Gate], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1887
Frederic Henry Hedge, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Metrical%20Translations%20and%20Poems/wG0RAAAAYAAJ Metrical Translations and Poems], Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888
Ossip Schubin, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Erlach%20Court/Ci0ZAAAAYAAJ Erlach Court], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1889
Ludwig Harder, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/A%20Family%20Feud/7qw5AAAAMAAJ A Family Feud], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1897