Jürg Federspiel

Jürg Fortunat Federspiel
Jürg Fortunat Federspiel
Born	June 28, 1931; Kemptthal, Canton Zurich
Died	February 25, 2007 (aged 75); Basel, Switzerland
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Swiss
Genre	short story, historical novel, poetry
Notable works	The Ballad of Typhoid Mary

Jürg Fortunat Federspiel (28 June 1931 – 12 January 2007) was a Swiss writer, born in Kemptthal, Canton Zurich. Federspiel authored more than 20 novels and short story collections.^[1]

Background and education

Federspiel grew up in Davos and attended secondary school in Basel. From 1951 he worked as a journalist and film critic for several Swiss newspapers, and spent time in Germany, France, Great Britain, Ireland and the USA.

Career

His first notable work was a collection of short stories, Orangen und Tode ("Oranges and death") in 1961.^[2] In the English-speaking world his best-known work was The Ballad of Typhoid Mary.^[1] A historical novel about the life of Mary Mallon, it was published in German in 1982, and in English translation a year later by Random House.^[3]

Towards the end of his life, he lived alternately in Basel and New York City. His last published book was Mond ohne Zeiger ("Moon without hands"), a collection of poetry, in 2001. He suffered for years with severe diabetes and Parkinson's disease.^[1]

Federspiel died on 25 February 2007 in Basel, having been missing since 12 January 2007. The cause of death was assumed to be suicide.^[2]