John Worthen
Nottingham UK
Back to Basics: Frieda von Richthofen and Karl von Marbahr
One of the most significant figures in the early biography of Frieda von Richthofen-Weekley-Lawrence-Ravagli has been the German aristocrat and soldier Karl von Marbahr, who appears in the books by Moore, Lucas, Maddox, Byrne, Gouirand-Rousselon, Squires and Talbot, Jüngling and Roßbeck and others, as well as playing a considerable role in E. W. Tedlock's compilation Frieda Lawrence: Memoirs and Correspondence (London 1961: New York 1964). Tedlock and Moore singled out Marbahr as a man who had crucially been in love with Frieda before she met Ernest Weekley: Tedlock quoted the introduction to one version of Frieda's memoirs actually written to her old friend, in which she remarked 'You understood me so well'. Byrne's biography, however, described Marbahr as 'earnest, fretful, and plodding'. Who was right?
I have now worked through the early correspondence of Frieda, her friends and family; and this work – going back to back to the roots of Frieda's early life and loves – has uncovered a great deal both unexpected and extraordinary. In my paper I shall be giving a definitive answer to a question no-one has asked before: who really was Karl von Marbahr?