About
Vicki Baum, born Hedwig Baum in Vienna, first studied harp at the Vienna Conservatory and worked as a professional musician before turning to writing. She worked as an editor at Ullstein Verlag in Berlin from 1920 to 1931. Her novel 'Stud. chem. Helene Willfüer' (1928) was a bestseller, but it was 'Menschen im Hotel' (1929), known in English as 'Grand Hotel', that made her famous. Written in three weeks, the novel was adapted into a 1932 film starring Greta Garbo. Baum emigrated to the United States in the early 1930s, became an American citizen in 1938, and wrote in English from 1941 onward. She published over 50 novels, several of which were adapted in Hollywood.
* 1888-01-24 — † 1960-08-28
Major works
- Stud. chem. Helene Willfüer (1928)novel
- Menschen im Hotel (1929)novel
- It Was All Quite Different (1964)memoir
Key milestones
- 1932Film adaptation of 'Grand Hotel' by MGM, awarded an Oscar.
- 1933Her books are publicly burned by the Nazis and banned in Germany.
- 1938Becomes an American citizen.
Themes
Modern urban lifeIndependent womenSocial changeExile and identityLove and desire
Sources: britannica.com · jwa.org · deutsche-kinemathek.de