Jan Hendrik Frederik Grönloh was born in Amsterdam, the oldest of four children. After an idealistic youth, he joined the Holland–Bombay Trading Company in 1904, becoming director in 1926, suffering a nervous breakdown leading to a short hospitalization in 1927, and retiring at age fifty-five, on December 31, 1937; he married Aagje Tiket (b. 1883) in 1906 and had four daughters with her, born in 1907, 1908, 1909, and 1912. Meanwhile, as Nescio (Latin for “I don’t know”; he adopted a pseudonym so as not to jeopardize his business career, acknowledging his authorship publicly only in 1929), he wrote what is now considered perhaps the best prose in the Dutch language.
This was such an interesting book! It showed everything that Nescio (Jan Hendrik Frederik Grönloh) has written and you can really see how his writing process went on and how he grew as a writer. I honestly found it so interesting! 10/10 recommend to those who are interested in Dutch literature.
Grotendeels 5 sterren maar de latere schetsen en de redevoeringen doen er wat aan af. De vele versies en doodlopende stukken bij de bekende verhalen zijn fascinerend en mooi om te lezen
ik vind de stijl heel mooi, hoe hij een sfeer en gevoel weet over te brengen. Maar doordat het een wat ouder boek was vond ik het taalgebruik soms wat lastig. (ik heb alleen de eerste drie verhalen gelezen)