The Burgermeister's Daughter: Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town

Steven Ozment’s The Bürgermeister’s Daughter: Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town, originally published in 1996, is a historical biography of Anna Büschler, a charismatic 16th-century woman from Schwäbisch Hall who famously feuded with her father, siblings, and hometown city council. Anna’s big personality, her affairs, her multiple legal battles, and the injustices imposed upon her by her family and the city caused wild speculation and gossip in the region during her lifetime.

Steven Ozment (1939-2019) was an American historian who specialized in German history and the Protestant Reformation, two subjects that The Bürgermeister’s Daughter explores prominently. Born in Mississippi and raised in Arkansas, Ozment received a doctorate from Harvard in 1967 and taught there from 1990 until his death. His long list of published works includes multiple books on medieval European history, the Renaissance, and the Reformation. His celebrated book Age of Reform, 1250-1550 was nominated for a National Book Award in 1981.

This guide refers to the 1997 paperback edition of the book published by Harper Perennial.

Summary

The book opens with an overview of Anna Büschler’s various feuds and explains that the survival of her various correspondences (including those with her lovers) gives us unparalleled insight into her life and personality.