Jan de Hartog (1914 – 2002) was a Dutch playwright, novelist and occasional social critic who moved to the United States in the early 1960s and became a Quaker.
Early years
Jan de Hartog was born to a Dutch Calvinist Minister (and professor of theology), Arnold Hendrik, and his wife, Lucretia de Hartog (who herself was a lecturer in medieval mysticism), in 1914. He was raised in the fishing community of Haarlem, Holland.
At around the age of 11, he ran away to become a cabin boy otherwise referred to as a "Sea mouse" on-board a Dutch fishing boat. His father had him brought home, but shortly afterwards, Jan ran off to sea again. The experiences thus gained became material for some of his future novels, as many of his life experiences did.
At 16, he briefly attended the
Netherlands Naval CollegeThe Royal Netherlands Naval College in Den Helder is the service academy of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The KIM offers a program of four or five years and also a short course of sixteen to twenty-two months...
but was only there for a year. Per his own account, was expelled, and told emphatically by his angry schoolmaster "This school is not for pirates!"
De Hartog was adjunct inspector with the Amsterdam Harbor Police until 1932. It was a few more years before he began to write.
While employed as skipper of a tour boat on the Amsterdam Canals, he wrote several mysteries featuring Inspector Gregor Boyarski of the Amsterdam Harbor Police. At this time he used a pseudonym "F.R. Eckmar" (which is translatable as ""transfer but" to whatever") for these works which ("luckily" according to the author himself) were never translated into English.
His theater career began in the late 1930s at the Amsterdam Municipal Theater, where he acted in and wrote a play.
World War II
De Hartog's career as a writer (as well as his personal life) was decisively influenced by a coincidence. In May 1940, just ten days before
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
invaded and swiftly occupied the hitherto-neutral
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, de Hartog published his book
Hollands Glorie (
Holland's Glory, translated much later to English as "Captain Jan").
The novel described the life of the highly skilled sailors on ocean-going tugboats, a specialized field of nautical enterprise in which the Dutch have always taken the lead. Without saying it in so many words, de Hartog portrayed the sailors—doing a difficult, dangerous and poorly rewarded job—as the modern successors to the bold navigators of the
Dutch Golden AgeThe Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world.- Causes of the Golden Age :...
.
In fact, the book's plot as such had nothing political, anti-German or anti-Nazi, the sailor protagonists' conflict being mainly with nature and with their highly paternalistic and authoritarian (and thoroughly Dutch) employers. Nevertheless, for a country undergoing the shock of invasion and occupation, the book with its outspoken assertion of and pride in Dutch identity became a bestseller in the occupied Netherlands and a focus of popular opposition to the Nazi occupation. As a result, the
GestapoThe was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning in April 1934, it was under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel under Heinrich Himmler in his position as leader of the SS and Chief of German Police...
took a lively interest in de Hartog himself, who had joined the non-military
Dutch resistanceDutch resistance to the Nazi occupation during World War II developed relatively slowly, but its counterintelligence, domestic sabotage, and communications networks provided key support to Allied forces beginning in 1944 and continuing until the Netherlands was fully liberated.-Prelude:Prior to the...
movement, performing/writing plays while assisting in the concealment and relocation of Jewish babies to avoid having them sent to concentration camps. His book was banned and he was forced into hiding; assuming the identity of an elderly woman in a nursing home. Eventually, he staged a difficult and adventure-filled escape to England.
In London he became deeply involved in the community of the exile Dutch sailors. The exiles felt deep alienation from and suspicion towards their British allies and hosts, and felt that they were being set up as cannon fodder (or rather,
U-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
fodder) by the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
, being sent on dangerous missions with inadequately armed (or sometimes, completely unarmed) boats.
He joined the Netherlands Merchant Marine as a correspondent in 1943, and later served as a ship's captain for which he received Netherland's "Cross of Merit."
This experience served as the background to several of his later books such as
The CaptainThe Captain is a 1967 novel by Dutch writer Jan de Hartog.Ocean-going tugboats, a highly specialized field of nautical enterprise in which the Dutch have always taken the lead, were the subject of De Hartog's book, "Hollands Glorie" - in which the highly skilled tugboat sailors were depicted The...
and "Stella" (also published as "The Key"). "The Key" was made into a movie, starring Sophia Loren and Trevor Howard under the title "Stella's Key"; it also started de Hartog on the route to becoming a pacifist which later culminated when he joined the
Religious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends is a religious movement, whose members are known as Friends or Quakers. The roots of this movement are with some 17th century Christian English dissenters, but today the movement has branched out into many independent national and regional organizations, called...
(Quakers).
Beyond World War II
De Hartog had many hesitations about authorising translation of
Hollands Glorie into English, and when finally he did in 1947 the English version (entitled
Captain Jan) did not have as much success as the Dutch original. However, in the wake of the war he made the decision to remain in the UK; later he relocated to the USA. He also made the professional decision to write most of his later works in English, beginning with
The Lost Sea (1951), which was a fictional account of his experiences as a sea mouse when he was younger.
Precisely because in the war years he had been regarded as close to a national hero, quite a few people in Holland resented this decision to write in English and felt betrayed and abandoned by him. While the sales of his books in the English-speaking world soared, his reputation in his own homeland took somewhat of a plunge, which took years to repair.
For his part de Hartog continued to regard himself as—and take pride in being—a Dutchman, even after living several decades in America, and many of his later books had Dutch protagonists and themes. Indeed, for many people outside the Netherlands, these books of his became a major source of information about Dutch society, culture and modern history.
In 1952, while visiting New York, he encountered a play he had written while still in hiding during the war, and had sold the rights to while in England. The play was called
The FourposterThe Fourposter is a 1951 play written by Jan de Hartog. The two-character story spans thirty-five years, from 1890 to 1925, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughters and sorrows, and hopes and disappointments experienced by Agnes and George throughout their marriage...
. A New York Times reviewer called it "the most civilized comedy we have had on marriage for years." It went on to win de Hartog a
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and...
at the
6th annual Tony Awards ShowThe 6th Annual Tony Awards, presented by the American Theatre Wing, took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom, on March 30, 1952. It was broadcast on radio station WOR and the Mutual Network...
for
Best PlayThe Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York....
. Columbia Pictures also made
The Fourposter into a partially animated movie, starring
Rex HarrisonSir Reginald “Rex” Carey Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won both an Academy Award and a Tony Award.-Youth and stage career:...
and Lili Palmer. The scenes from the play were linked by cartoon sequences between them. The film was nominated for both, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for its cinematography. Later, in 1966, it became the musical
I Do! I Do!I Do! I Do! is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt.Based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter, the two-character story spans fifty years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughters and sorrows, and hopes and disappointments...
. The play also appeared under its original name at the
Theatre New BrunswickTheatre New Brunswick is the only professional theatre company in New Brunswick Canada. It began operation in 1964, and has been successfully operating since that time.-Artistic Directors:*Walter Learning *Malcolm Black...
in 1974.
Jan and Marjorie de Hartog took a 90-foot Dutch Ship (called "The Rival") and transformed it into a houseboat which they lived on. In 1953, during Holland's severe flooding, "The Rival" was transformed into a floating hospital. It was entirely stripped-out and refitted with coffins.
Moving to America
In the late 50's the de Hartogs decided to take "The Rival" to the USA, via the deck of a freighter. There was difficulty in locating a dock with hooks large enough to lift the houseboat from the freighter, until they found Houston, Texas. They decided they liked it there, and stayed.
While Jan was giving lectures in Houston regarding play writing, Marjorie was out looking for community volunteer opportunities for both of them to participate in. They found Jefferson Davis County Hospital (now the Ben Taub Memorial Hospital). Conditions at the hospital were bad at that time, and with the hospital being significantly underfunded, understaffed, and overcrowded, it showed no signs of getting better.
Jan decided to document the conditions there, resulting in the historical memorial
The Hospital (1964), which exposed the horrid conditions of
Houston'sHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of...
charity hospitals in the 1960s. The book received national response, but also a local response where, within a week of the book's release, nearly four hundred citizens volunteered at the hospital. It also led to significant reforms of that city's indigent healthcare system through the creation of the
Harris County Hospital DistrictThe Harris County Hospital District is a governmental entity with taxing authority that owns and operates three hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Harris County, Texas, United States, including the city of Houston.-History:...
. It also led, however, to considerable hostility and many anonymous threats which finally forced de Hartog and his wife to move away from Houston.
In 1967, de Hartog wrote
The CaptainThe Captain is a 1967 novel by Dutch writer Jan de Hartog.Ocean-going tugboats, a highly specialized field of nautical enterprise in which the Dutch have always taken the lead, were the subject of De Hartog's book, "Hollands Glorie" - in which the highly skilled tugboat sailors were depicted The...
which again revisited his love for the sea, using a main character that was loosely based on himself called, Martinus Harinxma, who first appeared in the previously published
The Lost Sea (1951). The book was a success for de Hartog, and later Martinus would go on as a primary character for several more sequels.
Before going to work on the second of the Martinus series, Jan wrote of his experience regarding the adoption of his two daughters who were Korean War orphans. This book, called
The Children was written in 1969.
He then wrote an important semi-fictional account of the origin of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The book,
The Peaceable Kingdom: An American SagaThe Peaceable Kingdom: An American Saga is a historical novel in two parts by Quaker author Jan de Hartog. It describes the first meeting of George Fox and Margaret Fell, the latter's conversion, and a portion of the history of colonial Pennsylvania.Terry Linkletter of Amazon.com has said this...
written in 1972, won him a nomination for the Nobel Prize, and was followed eight years later by another quaker novel, called
The Lamb's War" in 1980.
He later released the next book of the Martinus series entitled The Commodore
(1986), while living in "The Walled Garden" in Somerset, England, followed by The Centurion in 1989 which explored an interest that he and his wife had become involved in;
dowsingDowsing, sometimes called divining, doodlebugging , or water finding or water witching, is a practice that attempts to locate hidden water wells, buried metals or ores, gemstones, or other objects as well as so-called "currents of earth radiation" without the use of scientific apparatus...
. In the story, Martinus Harinxma, dabbled with dowsing and was led on a journey that followed in the footsteps of a Roman Centurion from history. The real story, in terms of researching and writing this book, was not much different from the book itself, with the exception of fictional elements used to carry the story along.
In 1990, Jan and Marjorie "quietly" returned to Houston to a much improved atmosphere. Shortly afterwards he returned to the Quaker books to write the last of the series: The Peculiar People
in 1992.
This was followed by his last fully completed novel, The Outer Buoy: A Story of the Ultimate Voyage in 1994, which again, was a Martinus Harinxma novel which expressed quite clearly, Jan de Hartog's own fascination with becoming old, a fascination with inner explorations of the mind, and perhaps even a desire to rest.
In 1996, Jan de Hartog was chosen to be honored as the year's "Special Guest" at the
Netherlands Film FestivalThe Netherlands Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.During the ten-day festival, all Dutch film productions of the previous year are exhibited. Besides feature films, the program also consists of short subjects, documentary...
.
Four years later, in 2002, Jan de Hartog died at the age of 88. Appropriately, his ashes were taken to sea by an ocean going tugboat, the SMITWIJS SINGAPORE, and scattered onto the surface of the sea at the coordinates 52.02.5 N – 004.05.0 E at 13.10 hrs LT, by his wife, Marjorie de Hartog, and his son, Nick de Hartog, while other family members spread flowers at the site.
A few years later, Marjorie de Hartog decided to compile and arrange a story that Jan had been working on some time ago, in the hopes of releasing it in his memory. In 2007, A View of the Ocean was released, a story, in essence about Jan de Hartog's own mother's death, and reveals his first contact with Quakers.
Media
Jan de Hartog wrote many of his plays, books, and magazine articles in Dutch. Also, some of his plays and books were adapted into movies. It is the intent of this section to document those of his works that were in English (including some that were translated from their original Dutch versions by outside sources).
Books in English (incomplete)
- The Captain
The Captain is a 1967 novel by Dutch writer Jan de Hartog.Ocean-going tugboats, a highly specialized field of nautical enterprise in which the Dutch have always taken the lead, were the subject of De Hartog's book, "Hollands Glorie" - in which the highly skilled tugboat sailors were depicted The...
ISBN 0-7090-3110-6
- The Commodore: A Novel of the Sea
ISBN 0-06-039041-7
- The Peaceable Kingdom: An American Saga
The Peaceable Kingdom: An American Saga is a historical novel in two parts by Quaker author Jan de Hartog. It describes the first meeting of George Fox and Margaret Fell, the latter's conversion, and a portion of the history of colonial Pennsylvania.Terry Linkletter of Amazon.com has said this...
ISBN 0-449-21773-6
- The Centurion: A Novel
ISBN 0-06-039094-8
- The Lamb's War: A Novel
ISBN 0-06-010995-5
- The Trail of the Serpent
ISBN 0-06-039018-2
- Star of Peace
ISBN 0-06-039029-8
- The Peculiar People
ISBN 0-679-41636-6
- The Outer Buoy: A Story of the Ultimate Voyage
ISBN 0-679-43604-9
- The Lost Sea
ISBN 0-8488-0982-3
- Distant Shore
ISBN 0-8488-0981-5
- The Inspector
ISBN 0-88411-069-9
- Spiral Road
ISBN 0-88411-071-0
- The Hospital
- The Little Ark
- A Sailor's Life
- Captain Jan
(an English translation of Holland's Glorie)
ISBN 0-85617-979-5
- The Children: a Personal Record for the Use of Adoptive Parents
ISBN 0-241-01622-3
- Stella
(also published as The Key)
- Waters of the New World: Houston to Nantucket
(with illustrations by Jo SpierJo Spier was a popular Dutch artist and illustrator. He was born Joseph Eduard Adolf Spier in Zutphen, The Netherlands...
)
- The Sailing Ship (#2 of The Odyssey Library collection)
(with illustrations by Peter SpierPeter Spier is a Dutch-born American author and illustrator who has published more than thirty children's books.-Biographical information:...
)
- The Call of the Sea
- A View of the Ocean
(published in November 2007)
ISBN 0-375-42470-0
Stories appearing in Reader's Digest Condensed BooksThe Reader's Digest Condensed Books were a series of hardcover anthology collections, published by Reader's Digest and distributed via direct mail. Each volume contained several current best-selling novels edited down to accommodate the anthology format...
- Mission to Borneo in Volume 30 - Summer 1957
- Duel with a Witch Doctor in Volume 31 - Autumn 1957
- The Artist in Volume 54 - Summer 1963
- The Captain in Volume 68 - Winter 1967
Movies
The FourposterThe Fourposter is a 1951 play written by Jan de Hartog. The two-character story spans thirty-five years, from 1890 to 1925, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughters and sorrows, and hopes and disappointments experienced by Agnes and George throughout their marriage...
(1952)The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
- 1hr 43min — Directed by Irving G. ReisIrving Reis was a radio producer/director and film director.Reis was the creator of the experimental radio anthology program Columbia Workshop...
- Based on play of same name.
- Won Venice International Film Festival — Volpi Cup for Best Actress (Lili Palmer)
- Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Cinematography — Black and white (Hal Mohr
Hal Mohr, A.S.C. was a famed movie cinematographer. He is one of only six cinematographers to have a "Star" on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, the others being J. Peverell Marley, Ray Rennahan, Leon Shamroy, Haskell Wexler, and Conrad L. Hall...
)
- Nominated for an Academy award for Best Cinematography (Hal Mohr
Hal Mohr, A.S.C. was a famed movie cinematographer. He is one of only six cinematographers to have a "Star" on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, the others being J. Peverell Marley, Ray Rennahan, Leon Shamroy, Haskell Wexler, and Conrad L. Hall...
)
The KeyThe Key is a 1958 war film set in 1940 during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic. It was based on the novel Stella by Jan de Hartog.-Plot:...
(1958)The year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date...
- 2hrs 1 min — Directed by Carol ReedSir Carol Reed was an English film director, most famous for directing The Third Man, The Agony and the Ecstasy and Oliver!...
- Based on "Stella" Novel
- with William Holden
William Holden was an American film actor.Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954, and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974....
and Sophia LorenSophia Loren is an Italian film actress and an international sex symbol. In 1961, she won an Academy Award for Best Actress for Two Women, becoming the first actor to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance....
- Won a British Academy Award for Best British Actor (Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
)
The Spiral RoadThe Spiral Road is a 1962 American drama starring Rock Hudson, Gena Rowlands, Burl Ives, Reggie Nalder and Neva Patterson. It was directed by Robert Mulligan with a screenplay by John Lee Mahin and Neil Paterson adapted from the novel by Jan de Hartog....
(1962)The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Dr. No launches the James Bond film series, the second longest-running motion picture franchise of all time , running more than 40 years.-Top grossing films :...
- 2hrs 25min - Directed by Robert MulliganRobert Mulligan was an American film and television director.-Early life and career:Mulligan studied at Fordham University before serving with the United States Marine Corps during World War II...
- Based on Novel of the same name.
- starring Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1960s and 1970s, most notably in several romantic comedies with his most famous co-star, Doris Day...
and Burl IvesBurl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer.As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas and voice work in theater, television and motion pictures. A prolific recording artist, the prominent music critic John Rockwell has been quoted in the New York Times as...
Lisa
(1962)The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Dr. No launches the James Bond film series, the second longest-running motion picture franchise of all time , running more than 40 years.-Top grossing films :...
- 1hr 52min - Directed by Philip DunnePhilip Dunne was a Hollywood screenwriter, film director and producer, who worked prolifically from 1932 until 1965. He spent the majority of his career at 20th Century Fox crafting well regarded romantic and historical dramas, usually adapted from another medium...
The Inspector
novel
Released as The Inspector
in the United Kingdom
starring Dolores HartDolores Hart is an American Roman Catholic nun and former actress. She made 10 films in 5 years, playing opposite Stephen Boyd, Montgomery Clift, George Hamilton and Robert Wagner, having made her movie debut with Elvis Presley in Loving You .-Background:Dolores Hicks was the only child of the...
, Stephen BoydStephen Boyd , born William Millar, was an Irish-born actor from Glengormley, Northern Ireland, who appeared in 60 films, most notably in the role of Messala in the 1959 film Ben-Hur.-Biography:...
and Donald PleasenceDonald Henry Pleasence OBE, was an English actor, having accumulated over 200 screen credits throughout his long career...
Nominated for a Golden Globe for "Best Picture - Drama"
The Little Ark
(1972)The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :source: http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1972.shtml- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ben*The Big Bird Cage*Blacula*Bone...
- 1hr 40min - Directed by James B. ClarkJames B. Clark may refer to:* James Beauchamp "Champ" Clark , American politician* James B. Clark , American film editor and director* James B. Clark , Canadian politician from Ontario...
- Based on Novel of the same name.
- Nominated for an Academy award for Best Song (Marsha Karlin and Fred Karlin
Fred Karlin was an Oscar-winning American composer of more than one hundred scores for feature films and television movies...
)
Television
The Fourposter (Play on TV) (1955) - 1hr 30min - Directed by Clark Jones
- Aired on NBC, July 25, 1955, as an episode of the 'Producers Showcase Series' whose tagline reads "Bringing the best of Broadway to the 21-inch screen".
External links
- Biography of Jan de Hartog in the "Daily Shipping Newsletter" http://www.ibiblio.org/maritime/Scheepvaartnieuws/Pdf/scheepvaartnieuws/2002/specialeedities/hartog.PDF
- "the Looniverse", by Harrie Verstappen, whose sources include on-going collaborations with Marjorie de Hartog. It covers more in-depth articles regarding details of Mr. De Hartog's books. It is a source for some of the material found on this page.
- The Quaker Liar, An article by Ann Sieber, which was originally published in the "Houston Press". It's a good source of information gleaned through personal contact with the De Hartogs.
- An abridged version of "Jan de Hartog: A Captain on the Ocean of Light and Love", also by Ann Seiber, includes historic photographs of Jan De Hartog provided by his wife.
- Writers Info website (in Dutch)
- Summary of his book: "The Hospital" which also adds to the author biography
- WeberStudies Volume 4.1 - Spring 1987 This is a transcript of a talk Jan de Hartog gave at Weber State College on November 17, 1986. It discusses his involvement with the Dutch Underground Theatre, along with notes regarding The Fourposter. While this is arguably not a proper biographical reference per Wikipedia guidelines, it should stand as a temporary one until conflicting or supporting references can be uncovered.
- Ron Slate's review of A View of the Ocean includes de Hartog biography.
- Jan de Hartog - Schoorl (Plaats van Herinnering) -A Youtube video, possibly of interest, (though narrated entirely in Dutch) includes old filmstock of Jan.
References