Alexandra Fröhlich

Alexandra Fröhlich
Born1966 or 1967
Died (aged 58)
Hamburg, Germany
Cause of deathGunshot wound
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • writer
Notable work
  • Meine russische Schwiegermutter und andere Katastrophen
  • Reisen mit Russen
  • Gestorben wird immer
  • Dreck am Stecken
Children3

Alexandra Fröhlich (1966 or 1967 – 22 April 2025) was a German journalist and writer.[1]

Life and career

Fröhlich was initially active as a journalist in Ukraine and founded a women's magazine in Kyiv.[2][3] In Germany she later worked as a freelance author for various women's magazines, including Petra and Freundin.[4]

In 2012 she published her debut novel, Meine russische Schwiegermutter und andere Katastrophen ("My Russian Mother-in-law and Other Catastrophes"), with Knaur, about the stubborn mother-in-law Darja, her son Artjom, and lawyer Paula, who falls in love with Artjom. The novel sold more than 50,000 copies and reached Der Spiegel's bestseller list.[5] It was also released in French in 2015 under the title Ma belle-mère russe et autres catastrophes.[6] In the 2014 sequel, Reisen mit Russen, the Hamburg lawyer Paula travels to Kyiv to reconcile with her Russian husband, Artjom, only to find that he has disappeared, prompting her to search for him with her mother-in-law.[7] Both works are semi-autobiographical, drawing on Fröhlich's failed marriage to a Russian.[8][9]

These were followed by the crime novel Gestorben wird immer (2016) about 91-year-old Agnes Weisgut, who wants to come clean as the head of the stonemasonry business Weisgut & Söhne in Hamburg, and Dreck am Stecken (2019) about the diary of the deceased grandfather Heinrich, which reveals numerous secrets.

Fröhlich had three sons. She last lived on a houseboat at Holzhafenufer in the Moorfleet quarter of Hamburg, where she was found dead by a gunshot wound on 22 April 2025. She was 58,[10][11] Investigators suspected foul play,[12] and an investigation has commenced. The suspect was then arrested by the police and taken into custody for the murder of Fröhlich.[13]

Works

  • Meine russische Schwiegermutter und andere Katastrophen. Knaur, Munich 2012, ISBN 3-426-51256-4.
  • Reisen mit Russen. Knaur, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-426-51468-9.
  • Gestorben wird immer. Penguin, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-328-10001-0.
  • Dreck am Stecken. Penguin, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-328-10231-1.

References

  1. ^ Frau Fröhlichs russische Seele (in German), abendblatt.de, 17 December 2014
  2. ^ Sabine Stemmler: Eine Schwiegermutter wie ein Hurrikan. In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 26. März 2013, S. III.
  3. ^ Frau Fröhlichs russische Seele (in German), abendblatt.de, 17 December 2014
  4. ^ Denis Fengler (25 April 2025), Bestseller-Autorin Alexandra Fröhlich auf ihrem Hausboot getötet (in German), welt.de
  5. ^ Frau Fröhlichs russische Seele (in German), abendblatt.de, 17 December 2014
  6. ^ Übersetzung von Lorraine Cocquelin, 2015 bei Piranha, Péronnas sowie 2016 bei Pocket, Paris.
  7. ^ Nadine Rinke: Packende Geschichten made in Hamburg. In: Hamburger Morgenpost, 12. Dezember 2014.
  8. ^ Familienstreit und düstere Geheimnisse. In: Westfalen-Blatt, 25. Februar 2017, S. 11.
  9. ^ Für alle, die wissen, wie viel Wodka und Wortwitz sie vertragen. In: Bergedorfer Zeitung, 6. August 2013, S. 11.
  10. ^ Denis Fengler (25 April 2025), Bestseller-Autorin Alexandra Fröhlich auf ihrem Hausboot getötet (in German), welt.de
  11. ^ Frauenleiche auf Hausboot in Hamburg: Gewalttat vermutet (in German), ndr.de, 24 April 2025
  12. ^ Denis Fengler (25 April 2025), Bestseller-Autorin Alexandra Fröhlich auf ihrem Hausboot getötet (in German), welt.de
  13. ^ Kate Connolly (27 April 2025), Bestselling German novelist found killed on Hamburg houseboat, Berlin: The Guardian