Lili Schönemann

Anna Elisabeth "Lili" Schönemann was the daughter of a Frankfurt banker. In August 1778 she became engaged to, and then married, another banker, Bernhardt Friedrich von Türckheim, and her name became "Lilli" von Türckheim. Before that happened, however, between January and October 1775 she was engaged in an intense love affair with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, described in one source as his "first great love". Memories lingered: towards the end of his life, conversing with his young friend Frédéric Soret, Goethe recalled that he had loved Lili profoundly and had never been so close to happiness as he was with her. She featured repeatedly in his written work, identified simply as "Lili" or, according to some sources, as "Lilli".