DROSTE-HÜLSHOFF, ANNETTE von. — German Catholic poet and writer, born at Hülshoff Castle (Münster) on 10 January 1797, died at Mersburg Castle (Constance) on 24 May 1848. Living in the full Romantic period, she did not connect her work with any of the contemporary movements: her principal sources of inspiration are faith in God and love of nature: absolute faith, yet not unaware of doubt (v. Ich glaube, Gott, hilf meinem Unglauben), and an intense love of her homeland.
The isolation of her existence served only to deepen her inspiration, and although her verses, which are not easy to read, often lack melodious rhythm, they are always marked by seriousness and moral commitment. After a volume of poems (Gedichte) published anonymously in 1838 (it would later be reprinted under her name in 1844), in 1842 she published the novella Die Judenbuche, her finest prose work, in which she brings to life the legends and superstitions of her homeland. Her masterpiece is Das geistliche Jahr (1852), a collection of poems written from 1820 to 1839, accompanying, day by day, the course of the liturgical year, with its feasts and commemorations, relived with profound inner participation. Also noteworthy is Letzte Gaben (1860). The last two works are posthumous.