Hendrik Jan Schimmel
Encyclopedia
Hendrik Jan Schimmel Dutch
poet
and novelist, was born at 's-Graveland
, in the province of North Holland
, where his father was a notary and the burgomaster
.
From 1836 to 1842 Schimmel served in his father's office, and upon his death he worked in the office of the agent of the Dutch Treasury in Amsterdam
, in 1849 he took a post with the Dutch Trading Company there. In 1863 he became a director of the Amsterdam Credit Association. His first volume of poems appeared in 1852; but his literary position was made as a writer of historical dramas in blank verse
and one of the regenerators of the Dutch stage. His finest production was Struensee (1868), which was preceded by Napoleon Bonaparte (1851) and Juffrouw Serklaas ("Mrs Serklaas," 1857).
Among his other dramatic works were Joan Woutersz (a drama, 1847), Twee Tudors ("Two Tudors," 1847), Gondelbald (1848), Schuld en boete ("Guilt and Retribution," a drama, 1852), Het Kind van Staat ("The State Child," a dramatic fragment, 1859); Zege na strijd ("Struggle and Triumph," a drama, 1878). Schimmel's renderings of Casimir de la Vigne's Louis XI., Geibel
's Sophonisbe, and Ponsard
's Lucréce are also still acted in the Netherlands.
His novels are distinguished by their vigorous style and able characterization. The earlier, better-known ones betray the writer's English proclivities. The plots of Mary Hollis (1860, 3 vols, English translation, London 1872, under the title of Mary Hollis, a Romance of the Days of Charles II and William, Prince of Orange, 3 vols) and of Mylady Carlisle (1864, 4 vols) are laid in England, whereas those of his Sinjeur Semeyns (1875, 3 vols), a powerful picture of the terrible year 1672, and of De kapitein van de lijfgarde (1888, 3 vols, English adaptation, 1896, under the title of The Lifeguardsman, 1 vol.), a continuation of Master Semeyns, are almost entirely centred in Holland.
He had many points of style and manner in common with Madame Bosboom-Toussaint
, though both remained highly original in their treatment. Both finally reverted to essentially national subjects. To the earlier romances of Schimmel belong: Bonaparte en zijn tijd ("Bonaparte and his Time," 1853), De eerste dag eens nieuwen levens ("The First Day of a New Life," 2 vols, 1855), Sproken en vertellingen ("Legends and Tales," 1855), Een Haagsche joffer ("A Hague Damsel," 1857), De Vooravond der revolutie ("The Eve of the Revolution," 1866).
Schimmel was an early collaborator of Potgieter on the De Gids staff. His dramatic works appeared in a collected edition in 1885-1886 at Amsterdam (3 vols), followed by a complete and popular issue of his novels (Schiedam, 1892). He spent his last years in work on spiritualistic
research.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and novelist, was born at 's-Graveland
's-Graveland
s-Graveland is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wijdemeren, and lies about 4 km northwest of Hilversum....
, in the province of North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
, where his father was a notary and the burgomaster
Burgomaster
Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
.
From 1836 to 1842 Schimmel served in his father's office, and upon his death he worked in the office of the agent of the Dutch Treasury in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, in 1849 he took a post with the Dutch Trading Company there. In 1863 he became a director of the Amsterdam Credit Association. His first volume of poems appeared in 1852; but his literary position was made as a writer of historical dramas in blank verse
Blank verse
Blank verse is poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the sixteenth century" and Paul Fussell has claimed that "about three-quarters of all English poetry is in blank verse."The first...
and one of the regenerators of the Dutch stage. His finest production was Struensee (1868), which was preceded by Napoleon Bonaparte (1851) and Juffrouw Serklaas ("Mrs Serklaas," 1857).
Among his other dramatic works were Joan Woutersz (a drama, 1847), Twee Tudors ("Two Tudors," 1847), Gondelbald (1848), Schuld en boete ("Guilt and Retribution," a drama, 1852), Het Kind van Staat ("The State Child," a dramatic fragment, 1859); Zege na strijd ("Struggle and Triumph," a drama, 1878). Schimmel's renderings of Casimir de la Vigne's Louis XI., Geibel
Emanuel Geibel
Emanuel von Geibel , German poet and playwright, was born at Lübeck, the son of a pastor in the city.He was originally intended for his father's profession and studied at Bonn and Berlin, but his real interests lay not in theology but in classical and romance philology. In 1838 he accepted a...
's Sophonisbe, and Ponsard
François Ponsard
François Ponsard , was a French dramatist, poet and author and was a member of the Académie française.-Literary career:...
's Lucréce are also still acted in the Netherlands.
His novels are distinguished by their vigorous style and able characterization. The earlier, better-known ones betray the writer's English proclivities. The plots of Mary Hollis (1860, 3 vols, English translation, London 1872, under the title of Mary Hollis, a Romance of the Days of Charles II and William, Prince of Orange, 3 vols) and of Mylady Carlisle (1864, 4 vols) are laid in England, whereas those of his Sinjeur Semeyns (1875, 3 vols), a powerful picture of the terrible year 1672, and of De kapitein van de lijfgarde (1888, 3 vols, English adaptation, 1896, under the title of The Lifeguardsman, 1 vol.), a continuation of Master Semeyns, are almost entirely centred in Holland.
He had many points of style and manner in common with Madame Bosboom-Toussaint
Anna Louisa Geertruida Bosboom-Toussaint
Anna Louisa Geertruida Bosboom-Toussaint was a Dutch novelist.-Life and career:Geertruida Toussaint's father, a chemist of Huguenot descent, gave her a fair education, and at an early period of her career she developed a taste for historical research, fostered by a forced indoor life as a result...
, though both remained highly original in their treatment. Both finally reverted to essentially national subjects. To the earlier romances of Schimmel belong: Bonaparte en zijn tijd ("Bonaparte and his Time," 1853), De eerste dag eens nieuwen levens ("The First Day of a New Life," 2 vols, 1855), Sproken en vertellingen ("Legends and Tales," 1855), Een Haagsche joffer ("A Hague Damsel," 1857), De Vooravond der revolutie ("The Eve of the Revolution," 1866).
Schimmel was an early collaborator of Potgieter on the De Gids staff. His dramatic works appeared in a collected edition in 1885-1886 at Amsterdam (3 vols), followed by a complete and popular issue of his novels (Schiedam, 1892). He spent his last years in work on spiritualistic
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
research.