The Rhine Province ( including Trier ) was particularly badly hit by the crop failures of 1816 and 1817 . The income from the school fell . Austerity also triggered a growth in inter-denominational strife , which disadvantaged an institution run by a Protestant in a Catholic province . In 1822 Halberstadt decided to close the school . Her intention now was to restrict her teaching activities to private lessons , working for families she knew and trusted . In 1822 she also published a more substantial work on pedagogy , assembling her accumulated experience of teaching into just four volumes . " Gemälde häuslicher Glückseligkeit " ( '' loosely , " Images of Domestic Happiness and Joy " '' ) was influential among educationists and other opinion formers of the time . Short of funds , she sent a copy to the Russian emperor . Although the book was apparently sent unsolicited , the czar sent her a substantial payment " in recognition "
crop failures
Year Without a Summer
Wilhelmine Halberstadt