Margot Benary-Isbert
Margot Benary-Isbert was a German-born author known for her impactful storytelling and exploration of post-World War II themes. Born on December 2, 1889, in Saarbrucken, Germany, she experienced a tumultuous childhood marked by the death of her mother and a rich cultural upbringing in Frankfurt. After marrying Wilhelm Benary in 1917, she settled on a farm in Erfurt, where she balanced raising Great Danes and writing stories published in various magazines. Despite the rise of the Nazi regime, she chose to resist joining their writers' organization and continued her literary pursuits. Following the war, she and her husband fled to West Germany and later immigrated to the United States in 1952, where she became a naturalized citizen in 1957. Benary-Isbert is particularly noted for her novels, including "The Ark" and "Rowan Farm," which vividly depict the psychological and physical challenges faced in post-war Germany, alongside her fantasy work "The Wicked Enchantment." Her dedication to maintaining her narrative voice led her to translate her own works into English. She passed away in Santa Barbara, California, on May 27, 1979, and is remembered for her profound character development and historical narratives that resonate with young adult readers.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Margot Benary-Isbert
Writer
- Born: December 2, 1889
- Birthplace: Saarbrucken, Germany
- Died: May 27, 1979
- Place of death: Santa Barbara, California
Biography
Margot Benary-Ishbert was born in Saarbrucken, Germany, on December 2, 1889, the daughter of Adolf and Toni Ishbert. She was raised in Frankfurt, a town rich in history, a factor that influenced her childhood. Her mother died when she was quite young, and her father employed a governess to raise and educate his children. Benary-Ishbert attended a convent school and created stories and shared folklore with her classmates. She attended the University of Frankfurt and was later employed as a secretary in the ethnology and anthropology museum. There she met her husband, Wilhelm Benary, a psychologist and seed-firm executive. They married in 1917, settled on the Benary family farm in Erfurt, Germany, and had one daughter. They bred and raised Great Danes while Benary-Ishbert wrote and published stories and poems in magazines. She refused to join the Nazi writer’s organization during the rise of the regime and continued writing. When the war ended, the Benary farm fell within the Soviet-controlled East Germany. Benary-Ishbert and her husband fled to West Germany, eventually immigrating to the United States in 1952. She became a naturalized citizen in 1957.
These experiences became the backdrop for her first novels, The Ark and its sequel, Rowan Farm. She also wrote for adults, and she is best known for her novels showing the psychological and physical hardships of post-World War II Germany. She also wrote a fantasy novel, The Wicked Enchantment. Under a Changing Moon, set in southern Germany in the 1860’s, offers a portrait of Germany before it became a unified country. Her work was translated from Germany as early as 1953. Though she continued to compose in German, once she was proficient in English she painstakingly translated her own novels to preserve her style and voice. She has been praised for providing richly detailed, historical narratives of a high quality for discerning young adults. She died in Santa Barbara, California, on May 27, 1979. She is remembered as an expert storyteller whose work is cited for its depth of characterization. The realistic portrayal of the hardships presented in her novels matter to the reader, who learns from the characters’ courage and compassion and gains a greater understanding of the world.