LONELY BUT NOT ALONE

by Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, John Peereboom

Translated from the Dutch. Much about the Queen of the Netherlands' religious faith and her experiences during WW One and WW Two.

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting to read the memoirs of Princess Wilhelmina, who prior to her abdication in 1947 served for 50 years as queen of the Netherlands. She ascended at age 10 and took an active role from age 18. She was 34 when World War I began. She tells the tale of the years of Dutch neutrality. I was particularly interested to hear her thoughts on allowing the deposed German Kaiser to live in exile in the Netherlands. She also spends considerable time talking about HER years in exile during the Nazi occupation of Holland during the Second World War. Her commitment to her country is palpable. The only thing I would have discouraged had I been her editor is all the talk about her faith. The only thing interesting about that was her clear religiosity as it relates to the highly secular Netherlands of today.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read with a terrific point of view. More information on WWII and more specifics would have been nice, but that wasn’t the goal of this book. She wrote this book as a letter to her people,and as a spiritual undertaking. I found it very interesting and well worth the read.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"In the years now under discussion I can discern a few general lines which indicate God's plan for my life and the way in which He directed me. They can be summarized as follows: In the first place I acquired the consciousness of being God's child through Christ. Secondly my moral courage developed and I came to understand how it should be served by the power of my will. Finally I sought and found a method to break out of the cage in which we lived--only the time was not yet ripe for a thorough application of this method" (80).

"The decisive turning-point in those years was my discovery of His image, which is present in every human being, however faint it may be. It was the discovery that there is a sacred spark in us which comes from Him. A heavy burden fell off me when I became aware of this. It opened the way for His entry into my life as the Guide" (80).

"At the time people were content with the surface, many were only interested in adapting the biblical stories to the spirit of the times, thus robbing them of their essence, and never got beyond ethical considerations. . . . Although as I have remarked I had a personal faith which was not shaken by the war , at the same time I could not entirely escape the influence of that mentality. Something of it was present in me too . . . . My confidence in the reality of the biblical stories returned completely when Juliana had reached the age to understand them. I remember reading the New Testament with her, aided by a description of Palestine which had appeared shortly before. The author, who had spent many years in the country, gave a picture of the life and the people in Christ's days. His comments brought the stories of the gospels fully to life for us; they made us see Christ's life on earth as an immediate reality. The parable of the sower suddenly took on a different aspect for me when I read the description of a Palestinian field as it really was and of the soil to which Christ referred, at which he may have even pointed a finger" (95).

"We had sought the advice of Jan Ligthart, a well-known educational expert, and had decided to adopt his method" (110). (I want to look him up. He may be well-known, but I haven't heard of him!)

"The great loneliness of those days was my opportunity with God" (112).

"I used to read Wilfrid Monod's book Il a souffert, a work written for Holy Week and addressed to his parishioners" (112). (Again, it would be interesting to look this up and read it.)

"All those busy, happy days had demanded more of me than a human being can give, spiritually and physically; and every morning and every evening I had had to pack and unpack my own things, as there was nobody who could do it for me" (218). (!!)

[Elaine Hargrove · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but there was little about her faith experience, which was why I wanted to read the book. What was there was quite good, but it totalled only about 20-30 pages out of the whole book, and although it probably wasn't true, her writing seemed to reflect a separation from her faith and her daily life. She seemed self-absorbed, talking about needing to get away to recharge and being tired at one point from having to deal with royal duties as well as doing her own packing and unpacking when traveling. The chapter during WWII was based on many of her speeches rather than her own experiences, making me feel that she was keeping her readers at arm's length. I would have given it only two stars but her faith - when she talked about it - was well-described.

[Susan Waller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all the governments in exile in England during WWII, Churchill called Queen Wilhelmina "The only real man among them." !! So of course I wanted to read about her! This memoir turned out to be much more about her personal life than her reign as queen. I would still like to read a biography, but I haven't found one in English. Maybe Barbara Wilson could translate...