Rahel Levin-Varnhagen (1771–1833)

Rahel Varnhagen von Ense, née Levin (1771–1833), a writer and salonnière of Jewish heritage, was considered a champion of Jewish emancipation and the emancipation of women. Her letters, which were initially published in 1833 under the title Rahel: Ein Buch des Andenkens für ihre Freunde by Karl August Varnhagen von Ense, won her great admiration and new admirers far beyond the salon circles of Berlin after her death.

Rahel Levin-Varnhagen (1771–1833), steel engraving by C.F. Weber from a painting by Michael Moritz Daffinger, 1817; source: Rahel: Ein Buch des Andenkens für ihre Freunde, Berlin 1833, frontispiece; scan: Petra Dollinger, public domain.