Editing Bertha von Suttner (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Bertha von Suttner 1860s.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Photograph of Countess Bertha Sophie Felicitas Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau in her youth (1873)]]
Bertha Kinský was born on 9 June 1843 at [[Kinský Palace (Prague)|Kinský Palace]] in the Obecní dvůr [[:cz:Obecní dvůr|(cz)]] district of [[Prague]].<ref>Hamann, p. 1</ref> Her parents were the Austrian [[Lieutenant general]] ({{langx|de|Feldmarschall-Leutnant}}) Franz Michael de Paula Josef [[Graf]] Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1769–1843), then recently deceased at the age of 75, and Sophie Wilhelmine von [[Körner]] (1815–1884), who was almost fifty years her husband's junior.<ref name="Hamann, p. 2">Hamann, p. 2</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1= Smith, Digby |author2= Kudrna, Leopold |title= Biographical Dictionary of All Austrian Generals During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1792–1815: Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau, Franz de Paula Joseph Graf |publisher=napoleon-series.org |year= 2008 |url= http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/Austria/AustrianGenerals/c_AustrianGeneralsK.html#K29 |author1-link= Digby Smith }}</ref>

Her father was a member of the illustrious [[House of Kinsky]] via descent from [[Vilém Kinský|Count Wilhelm Kinsky]] (1574–1634), being the younger son of Count Franz Ferdinand Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1738–1806) and Princess Maria Christina Anna von und zu [[House of Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein]] (1741–1819), daughter of [[Prince Emanuel of Liechtenstein (1700–1771)|Prince Emanuel of Liechtenstein]]. Bertha's mother came from a family that belonged to an [[gentry|untitled nobility]] of significantly lower status. She was the daughter of her husband's comrade, Joseph von Körner (a [[captain]] of the [[cavalry]] in the Habsburg [[Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor|Imperial Army]]), a distant relative of the poet [[Theodor Körner (author)|Theodor Körner]]. Through her mother, Bertha was also related to [[Theodor Körner (president)|Theodor Körner, Edler von Siegringen]], namesake and great-nephew of the poet, who later served as the 4th [[President of Austria]].<ref>Kempf, pp. 7–8.</ref>

Bertha faced exclusion from the Austrian [[Uradel#Hochadel (High Nobility)|high nobility]] due to her "mixed" descent; for instance, only those with an unblemished aristocratic pedigree going back to their great-great-grandparents were eligible for presentation at the imperial court. She was additionally disadvantaged because her father, as a third son, had no great estates or other financial resources to bequeath. Bertha was baptised at Prague's [[Church of Our Lady of the Snows (Prague)|Church of Our Lady of the Snows]] – not a traditional choice for the aristocracy.<ref name="Hamann, p. 2"/>

Soon after Bertha's birth, her mother moved to live in [[Brno]] near Bertha's guardian, [[Landgrave]] Friedrich Michael zu [[Fürstenberg-Taikowitz]] (1793–1866). Her older brother, Count Arthur Franz Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1827–1906), was sent to a military school at the age of six and subsequently had little contact with the family. In 1855, Bertha's maternal aunt Charlotte (Lotte) Büschel, ''née'' von Körner [[:de:Körner (Familienname)|(de)]] (also a widow), and her daughter Elvira joined the household.<ref>Playne, p. 16</ref> Elvira, whose father was a private scholar and whose official guardian, after the death of her father, became Count Johann Carl August von Huyn (1812-1889), was of a similar age as Bertha and interested in intellectual pursuits, introducing her cousin to literature and philosophy.<ref>Hamann p. 5</ref> In addition to such studies, Bertha gained proficiency in French, Italian and English as an adolescent under the supervision of a succession of private tutors. She also became an accomplished amateur pianist and singer.<ref name="Hamann pp. 9-10">Hamann pp. 9–10</ref>

Bertha's mother and aunt, regarding themselves as clairvoyant, went to gamble at [[Wiesbaden]] in the summer of 1856, hoping to return with a fortune. Their losses proved so heavy that they were forced to move to [[Vienna]]. During this trip, Bertha received a marriage proposal from Prince Philipp zu [[Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg]] (1836–1858), third son of Prince August Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg [[:de:August Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg|(de)]] ([[Minister of State]] of the [[Duchy of Nassau]]) and Franziska [[:File:COA_Allesina-Schweitzer_Tyroff_BY.png|Allesina genannt von Schweitzer]] (1802–1878), which was declined due to Bertha's young age.<ref>Hamann pp. 5–6</ref> The family once again returned to Wiesbaden in 1859. The second trip proved similarly unsuccessful, and they had to relocate to a small property in [[Klosterneuburg]]. Shortly afterwards, Bertha wrote her first published work, the novella ''Erdenträume im Monde'', which appeared in ''Die Deutsche Frau''. Continuing poor financial circumstances led Bertha to a brief engagement to the wealthy [[Gustav Heine von Geldern|Gustav, Baron Heine von Geldern]], 31 years her senior and a member of the banking family Heine, whom she came to find unattractive and finally rejected. Her memoirs record her disgusted response to the older man's attempt to kiss her.<ref name="Hamann pp. 9-10"/>

In 1864, the family spent the summer at [[Bad Homburg]], a fashionable gambling-destination among the aristocracy of the era. Bertha befriended the [[Georgians|Georgian]] aristocrat [[Ekaterine Dadiani, Princess of Mingrelia]] and met [[Alexander III of Russia|Tsar Alexander II]], to whom she was very distantly related.<ref>Hamann p. 11</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.genealogics.org/relationship.php?altprimarypersonID=I00364947&savedpersonID=&secondpersonID=I00006398&maxrels=1&disallowspouses=1&generations=8&tree=LEO&primarypersonID=I00364947 | title=Bertha - Gräfin Kinská z Vchynic a Tetova | website=www.genealogics.org}}</ref> Seeking a career as an opera singer as an alternative to marrying into money, she undertook an intensive course of lessons, working on her voice for over four hours a day. Despite tuition from the eminent [[Gilbert Duprez]] in Paris in 1867 and from [[Pauline Viardot]] in Baden-Baden in 1868, she never secured a professional engagement. She suffered from [[stage fright]] and was unable to project well in performance.<ref>Playne, p. 29</ref><ref>Kemf, p. 9</ref><ref>Hamann p. 13</ref> In the summer of 1872, she became engaged to Prince Adolf zu [[Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein]] (1839–1872), son of [[:File:Alexander_zu_Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein.jpg |Prince Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein]] (1801–1874) and Countess Amalie Luise von [[Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda]] (1802–1887). Prince Adolf died at sea that October while travelling to America to escape his debts.<ref>Hamann p. 15</ref>