CRIME SCENE:
THE NETHERLANDS
A PRACTICAL GUIDE
Continuing the major Crime Time series of overviews:
the very best of the international crime writing
scene, country by country, the facts. the figures, the
key trends. Again co-ordinated for the International
Crime Writers Association (AIEP/IACW) by Bob
Cornwell, this issue features information gathered
by Charles den Tex, best- selling Dutch thriller writer
and Jos van Cann, author of The Murder Guide, an
encyclopedia of Dutch crime fiction
IN THE BEGINNING
Martin Mons), and by W.H. Haasse (writing as
W.H. van Eemlandt). In the 1950s more realistic
The Netherlands’ first mystery writers mainly
police routine was featured in novels by Joop van
modelled themselves on English language
den Broek (also writing as Jan van Gent). Den
writers, and featured non-Dutch characters
Broek was also responsible for the first Dutch
and settings. Maarten Maarten’s The Black
hard boiled thriller, Parels voor Nadra (Pearls for
Box Murder (1889), considered to be the first
Nadra, 1953), set in post colonial Indonesia.
detective novel written by a Dutch author,
was originally written in English, published
During the 1960s more novels featuring police
in England (and never translated into Dutch).
investigators were written by Pim Hofdrop, A.C.
Jacob van Schevichaven, a contemporary of
Baantjer and Peter Verstegen (writing as Ton
Arthur Conan Doyle and strongly influenced
Vervoort). The more traditional work of Rico
by him, from 1917 onwards (writing as Ivans),
Bulthuis and Bert Japin and the psychological
produced highly successful formula stories. In
thrillers of Ab Visser all have remarkable literary
1927 Willy Corsari (in fact Wilhemina Angela
quality. Around the same time Ted O’Sickens and
Douwes-Schmidt) made her debut, to be
H.J. Oolbekkink were producing spy fiction.
followed by A. Roothaert and Jan den Hartog Perhaps the most significant contributions
(writing as F.R. Eckmar). Starting in the mid- to the genre from Dutch writers came in
30s, H. van der Kallen using the pen name the 1960s, from Robert H. van Gulik with his
Havank wrote the first of 29 successful novels influential Judge Dee novels, set in seventh
about his character The Shadow. century China, and, in the 1970s, from
At this time traditional puzzle-type plots
Jan Willem van de Wetering whose novels
and police detectives dominated; topical
featuring the eccentric Amsterdam plain
themes were less important. Police detectives
clothes police-duo Grijpstra and De Gier
investigated crimes in novels by M.A. Wierdels-
provided a great stimulus to the genre in
Monsma and H.S. Paauwen-Monsma (writing as
his homeland.
Crime time 54 www.crimetime.co.uk 3
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