Louis Couperus(1863-1923)
- Writer
Dutch novelist Louis Couperus was born in The Hague in 1863. His father
was an official in the Dutch government, and when Louis was ten years
old his father was appointed to a position in Java, Indonesia (then a
Dutch colony known as the Dutch East Indies), and the family moved
there. They were there for five years when his father suddenly died,
and the family returned to Holland. He graduated from the University of
Holland at The Hague, and was hired there as a teacher.
He published his first novel, "Elina Veere", in 1889 and was critically acclaimed by the Dutch "realist" school of literature. The book's success enabled him to leave teaching and devote his full time to writing. He returned often to Java for inspiration and used the location as a background in much of his work. He married in 1891 and he and his wife moved to Italy from Holland after his mother died. In 1921 he returned to the Dutch East Indies as a correspondent for the "Haagsche Post" newspaper.
His work resulted in his becoming one of the most famous writers in Holland. One reviewer called him "unquestionably a major novelist of the world, hidden away in the Dutch language". He was awarded the Order of Orange Nassau in 1896 and the prestigious Order of the Netherlands Lion in 1923; as part of that award, he was given a house in the country. Ironically, shortly after he moved into that house he received either an insect bite or a scratch; he contracted blood poisoning, and died from it on July 16, 1923.
He published his first novel, "Elina Veere", in 1889 and was critically acclaimed by the Dutch "realist" school of literature. The book's success enabled him to leave teaching and devote his full time to writing. He returned often to Java for inspiration and used the location as a background in much of his work. He married in 1891 and he and his wife moved to Italy from Holland after his mother died. In 1921 he returned to the Dutch East Indies as a correspondent for the "Haagsche Post" newspaper.
His work resulted in his becoming one of the most famous writers in Holland. One reviewer called him "unquestionably a major novelist of the world, hidden away in the Dutch language". He was awarded the Order of Orange Nassau in 1896 and the prestigious Order of the Netherlands Lion in 1923; as part of that award, he was given a house in the country. Ironically, shortly after he moved into that house he received either an insect bite or a scratch; he contracted blood poisoning, and died from it on July 16, 1923.
