Anne de Vries


Anne de Vries was a Dutch teacher and writer, particularly famous in the Netherlands for his novels of regional life.
Born in the village of Kloosterveen near Assen, de Vries married Alida Gerdina van Wermeskerken in 1930 and the couple had five children. In 1972, de Vries gained national recognition when his novel Bartje was made into a television series by Willy van Hemert. The personnage of Bartje subsequently came to symbolize the Dutch province of Drenthe.
De Vries wrote a number of regional novels, most famously the coming-of-age novel Bartje and then Bartje Seeks Happiness. He also wrote Journey through the Night, a children's book about World War II which was published in four volumes between 1951 and 1958. His Bartje books may be considered Bildungsromane.
De Vries died, aged 60, in Zeist.

Selected works

Jongens van de straat, 1934Bartje, 1935De stroper, 1935Jaap en Gerdientje, 1937Op de grote heide, 1937De grote veenbrand, 1937Groot vertelboek voor de Bijbelse geschiedenis, 1938Verhalen voor Kersttijd, 1948Honderd vertellingen uit de bijbel, 1949Het boek van Jan Willem, 1950Reis door de nacht, 1951–1958De ring van de profeet, 1952Kinderkleurbijbel , 1961Twee meisjes in de tropen 1964