Heidi

Heidi is a work of children's fiction published between 1880 and 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning and Heidi: How She Used What She Learned. It is a novel about the events in the life of a 5-year-old girl in her paternal grandfather's care in the Swiss Alps. It was written as a book "for children and those who love children" (as quoted from its subtitle). Heidi is one of the best-selling books ever written and is among the best-known works of Swiss literature. Plot In the town of Dörfli ('small village' in Swiss German), lived two brothers. The older wasted the family fortune on drinking and gambling, while the younger ran away to serve in the Italian Army in Naples. Upon his return with a son, Tobias, the villagers ostracize him and create rumors surrounding his life in Naples. The man becomes known as The Alm-Uncle, as he lives in seclusion on the mountain Alm. Two village girls, sisters Dete and Adelheid, befriend Tobias. When they grow, Dete takes a job in the town of Maienfeld, in the Grisons, as a hotel maid. Adelheid and Tobias marry and work as carpenters. They have a daughter, named Adelheid but affectionately nicknamed Heidi. Soon after Tobias is killed in a work accident and Adelheid dies of shock. The Alm-Uncle holds this against God.