ERLEBTES – VERSCHWIEGENES. VICKI BAUM IM SPIEGEL IHRER AUTOBIOGRAPHIE ES WAR ALLES GANZ ANDERS

Abstract

The article contains the comparison between the biography and autobio-graphy of the writer, Vicki Baum as the icon of success. Vicki Baum (1888-1960) was one of the most famous writers in the 1930, and once described as German Colette. Baum’s career stages have been outlined here – being a professional harpist, an aspiring writer, an Ullstein publishing editor, the bestselling author in Germany, her huge success and its consequences i.e. film adaptation of the novel in America and her career in the US as a screen writer for the biggest film production companies in Hollywood. In her autobiography, Baum poses to be optimistic. However, between the lines of her text the longing for the unattainable can be seen as the author realized that many of her novels were regarded as popular literature.