Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
Today, Friedrich von Hartenberg would be described as a classic con artist – someone who deliberately cheats and deceives others. He gained notoriety for defrauding his mentor, the respected historian Johannes von Müller, of his fortune and ruining him emotionally. Yet Hartenberg’s life, marked by highs and lows, is a story full of intrigue, deception and, ultimately, tragic events. Friedrich was the second-eldest son of Johann Baptist von Hartenberg of Schaffhausen. His family enjoyed a certain standing, and so it seemed only natural that Johannes von Müller, a friend of the family, should take charge of his education. His mother, Countess von Wartenberg, had arranged this in 1797 by contract with Müller, the Swiss scholar, who was 45 years old at the time. Müller, who was living in Vienna at the time, saw great potential in the young Hartenberg and endeavoured to provide him with an education befitting his station. He secured a scholarship for Friedrich and enabled him to study in Prague in 1797, as well as spending around a year at the Theresianum in Vienna. Yet Hartenberg’s academic career proved to be short-lived. As early as 1799, he withdrew from his studies, allegedly due to epileptic fits. This early failure marked the beginning of a series of deceptions that were to shape Hartenberg’s life. Hartenberg was known for his extravagant and dissolute lifestyle; he turned out to be a complete good-for-nothing, yet possessed a great deal of criminal energy. In June 1802, Friedrich embarked on a remarkable deception. Under the false identity of a Hungarian count named Louis Batthyány Szent-Iványi, he made contact with Müller. The 36-year-old count, he claimed, wished to enter into a partnership with Müller after having lost his lover in the war, and to raise Hartenberg together as their adopted son. Müller, who failed to see through the deception, went along with this correspondence and, over the course of eleven months, wrote around 130 letters – often several pages long – to the supposed count. He regularly handed these letters over to Hartenberg for forwarding. Müller harboured no suspicions, even though a face-to-face meeting with the count was repeatedly postponed. In his naivety, he entrusted Hartenberg with large sums of money and a fortune entrusted to him, in order to provide the young man with a lifestyle befitting his station. Furthermore, he even rented a flat and designed a shared seal. The letters to ‘Batthyány Szent-Iványi’ are still preserved today in the Schaffhausen Ministerial Library, whilst Hartenberg burnt most of his letters to Müller before the trial began. In May 1803, the fraud was finally exposed. Müller reported Hartenberg to the authorities, whereupon Hartenberg attempted to compromise Müller by accusing him of same-sex acts, which were criminal offences at the time. However, these accusations proved to be groundless, and Müller swore under oath that he had never engaged in any unlawful sexual acts. The investigation against Müller was dropped, but his reputation suffered considerably as a result of the affair, which became known as the ‘Hartenberg Affair’. Müller was also politically compromised following this scandal. This was because he had publicly declared himself a sympathiser of Napoleon, which is why he moved to Berlin in 1804. Hartenberg, on the other hand, spent half a year in pre-trial detention and was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for fraud. After serving his sentence, he left Vienna and fled to Schaffhausen in 1807, as he was once again wanted for impersonation. There he joined the French army, but was sentenced to eleven years’ hard labour in the Toulon penal colony for theft. He finally returned to his father’s hometown in 1819, where he died of consumption in 1822. Müller’s letters to ‘Count Louis’ are a unique testament to the emotional and intellectual complexity of that era. They reveal that Müller consciously felt and expressed same-sex love, something that was strictly taboo and criminalised in society at the time. His language, which was unprecedented, skilfully blended erotic and sexual desire with intellectual and emotional dimensions that, in pre-modern times, had to remain strictly separate. Johannes von Müller, a man with a comprehensive knowledge of history and a vast body of literature, always scrutinised historical episodes for signs of male-male relationships. This particular sensitivity to same-sex love is reflected in his letters and sets him apart from the contemporary categories of pederast, sodomite or mere friend. His inner turmoil led him to develop a new language to express his feelings whilst simultaneously questioning social norms. The story of Friedrich von Hartenberg and Johannes von Müller impressively illustrates how personal intrigues and social taboos shape the lives of individuals. Hartenberg’s imposture and deceptions led to his own downfall, whilst Müller, despite his naivety and the resulting political and social damage, left a lasting impression. The Hartenberg affair remains a fascinating chapter in history, one that not only sheds light on the moral and legal norms of the time but also reveals complex human emotions and relationships. It is a story of trust and betrayal, of love and deception, which continues to resonate to this day and teaches us to be more cautious and critical in our dealings with our fellow human beings and their motives. For sometimes a wolf is hiding in sheep’s clothing.
