Leonard and Gertrude

by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Eva Channing (Translator)

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Pestalozzi was born on 12 January 1746, in Zürich, Switzerland. His father was a surgeon and oculist who died at age 33 when Pestalozzi, the second of three children, was five years old; he belonged to a family who had fled the area around Locarno due to its Protestant faith. His mother, whose maiden name was Hotze, was a native of Wädenswil on the lake of Zürich. The family also had a maid, Barbara Schmid, nicknamed Babeli. After the death of Pestalozzi's father it was only through the help of Babeli that Pestalozzi's mother could financially support the family.

In 1761, Pestalozzi attended the Gymnasium (Collegium Humanitatis) and received instruction from educators Johann Jakob Bodmer, who taught history and politics, and Johann Jakob Breitinger, who taught Greek and Hebrew.

Reviews

[Czarny Pies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Il est difficile pour un nord-américain de comprendre "Léonard et Gertrude" qui parle d'une société qui n'a jamais existé chez nous. Les personnages de ce roman semblent vivre dans les conditions de l'ancien régime. Les institutions et les lois sont en arrière de celles que je croyais existaient en France ou en l'Angleterre à l'époque. La suisse rurale du début du dix-neuvième siècle telle que décrite par Pestalozzi était en avance seulement de l'Europe de l'est où le servage existait toujours.

"Léonard et Gertrude" raconte comment un jeune comte corrige les erreurs commises par son père qui avait négligé la gestion de son domaine. Le villain est le bailli qui a cumulé des postes et qui exploite les petits gens. Il est cabaretier et fait des imprunts aux clients aux taux usuriers. En plus il dirige tous les projets de constructions et engage seulement ses favoris.

Gertrude et Léonard jouent un rôle très modeste dans l'intrigue. Ils déclenchent l'action quand ils se plaignent du bailli au jeune comte ce qui lui pousse à enquêter. Après cette première intervention, Gertrude et Léonard participent très peu aux événements. La plupart des pages sont consacrés au bailli, ses acolytes et leur actions malhonnêtes.

Le comte juge bon de consulter le pasteur de la communauté de temps en autre mais il agit tout seule. Pourtant, le pasteur n'a aucun pouvoir. Il ne semble pas exister non plus d'institutions nationales qui ont des droits dans le territoire du comte. Il y a bien des choses qui m'ont surpris dans ce petit roman qui est de l'intérêt surtout pour son contenu historique.

[Leonardo]

En su influyente novela Leonardo y Gertrudis, del año 1781, Pestalozzi describe la reforma educativa en una aldea, donde se pasa de una suerte de adoctrinamiento elitista a un despertar de las mentes mediante un proceso más democrático con un alto grado de participación. No resulta un dato menor que la agente de semejante cambio sea Gertrudis, una mujer pobre que encarna al mismo tiempo el espíritu inquisitivo, la posición maternal, la practicidad y la sensatez. En su escuela, Gertrudis educa a niños y niñas de todas las clases sociales, tratándolos como iguales y enseñándoles aptitudes prácticas que les resultarán útiles en la vida cotidiana (como bien señala el autor en un momento, “ lo que educamos son seres humanos, no brotes de hongos brillantes” ).

Sin fines de lucro pág.89

[Şeyma Reyhan Gözen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beğendim mi? Hayır
Beğenmedim mi? Hayır
Uzaklarda bir yerde iyi işler yapmak için çabalayan bir ruh varmış 1820'li yıllarda. Okumak için harcadığım vaktin karşılığını veremedi desem haksızlık yapmış olmam. İyi işler yapan, temas ettiği her kişi ve durumu güzelleştiren insanlar var olsun.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably one of the most sexist books I have ever read. It was written in 1890 something, so I imagine that it is somehow contextual. It still drove me crazy. I read it because I wanted to get to the bottom of Pestalozzi's views. He was an educational pioneer back in the day. We have him to thank for experiential education - he advocated for allowing children to learn from their surroundings. He also responded to blossoming industrialization with introducing concepts like timeliness. Historical - yes. Progressive - for the time. Read it? - no...not unless you are studying educational history.