Ingeborg Maria Sick

Ingeborg Maria Sick (1858–1951) was a Danish writer and philanthropist. After devoting many years to supporting philanthropic initiatives for the poor and needy, from her forties she concentrated on writing, publishing some 30 novels as well as poetry and biographies. Fangernes Ven (Friend of the Prisones, 1921), a biography of the Swedish-Finnish philanthropist Mathilda Wrede, is among her most important works. Published in translation throughout Scandinavia and Germany, her novels were widely read. Helligt Ægterskab (Holy Matrimony, 1903) appeared in no less than six editions in a single year.

Early life Born in Copenhagen on 17 September 1858, Ingeborg Maria Sick was the daughter of the Danish diplomat Carl Emil Sick (1825–64) and his wife Conradine Franciska née Marcher (1827–87). She spent her early years in Paris where her father was stationed until his early death when she returned to Denmark. As a result, she continued to feel half French and visited France frequently. While her novels were widely read in translation throughout Scandinavia and in Germany, some were also published in Dutch, English, French and Russian. Given her deep religious convictions, Sick's novels all show that faith in God triumphs over earthly pleasures. Their popularity resulted from well developed female characters and their erotically coloured conflicts.