Bertita Harding
| Bertita Harding | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bertita Loenarz 1 November 1902 Nuremberg, Bavaria |
| Died | 31 December 1971 (aged 69) Mexico City |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Notable works | Phantom Crown: The Story of Maximilian and Carlota of Mexico |
Bertita Harding (11 November 1902 – 31 December 1971) was a royal biographer with an easy and sometimes humorous style that made her a popular author.
Her book Phantom Crown, a biography of the tragic life of Emperor Maximilan of Mexico and his wife Charlotte was turned into a screenplay by John Huston for the film Juarez (1939). Magic Fire, her biography of Richard Wagner, was made into a German film by William Dieterle in 1955.
She was born as Bertita Carla Camille Leonarz on 1 November 1902 in Nuremberg, Bavaria. Her father, Emile Leonarz, was an engineer from the Rhineland. While working on a public street lighting project in Budapest in 1896, he married the Hungarian Countess Sarolta Poszte-Karoly. The couple had five children, two of which died in 1903 during a diphtheria outbreak.
In 1904 the family moved briefly to Berlin and the following year to Mexico City where her father worked as general director of the Mexican steel industry. It was in Mexico City where Bertita was raised and spent her formative years. Her childhood was one of privilege. She attended a Catholic school, made trips to Europe and the United States, and learned German, Spanish, English, Hungarian and French. In 1912 the family moved to Monterrey. It was at this time that she began piano lessons. Her parents destined her to follow a career as a concert pianist.
In 1923, she was sent to the United States to improve her English at Wisconsin University. While there, she met Jack Harding, a British-born American, who worked as advertising agent. The couple married on 7 October 1926 and settled in Indianapolis, Indiana. Bertita became a naturalized American citizen in 1927 and began to have some success as concert pianist.
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