Maarten 't Hart


Maarten 't Hart is a Dutch writer. Trained as a biologist in zoology and ethology at the Leiden University, he taught that subject before becoming a full-time writer in the 1980s, having made his debut as a novelist in 1971 under the name Martin Hart with Stenen voor een ransuil.
He is the author of many novels, including Het Woeden der Gehele Wereld and De kroongetuige. His books have been translated into a number of European languages, and he is especially popular in Germany. Three of his novels, , De aansprekers, and have appeared in English, as have a few of his short stories.
The themes of his novels, which often have an autobiographical component, include:
His writings are full of detailed descriptions of nature and show his passionate love for classical music.
't Hart has also written non-fiction, including Ratten, published in an English translation as Rats by Arnold Pomerans.
't Hart is supporter of the Party for Animals, and, in 2004, agreed with the party to underline that by becoming a candidate in the European elections. However, for this he needed an official identity document, and he has no driving licence, and had neither a passport nor another identity document, and, for reasons of principle, did not want to get one for this purpose. He is also a prominent radio and television personality, and a regular contributor to daily newspapers.
He currently lives in Warmond, close to Leiden, with his wife. His chief pastimes are music – he plays the piano and the organ – and reading. He says he reads six books a week, in Dutch, English, German, and French. He knows very little about films and rarely watches one. He does not want to be involved in films based on his books. He was, however, "rat consultant" to Werner Herzog for the film Nosferatu the Vampyre. This turned out to be a disagreeable experience about which he wrote a story, "Ongewenste zeereis", that appeared in 2004 in Granta'' under the title "Rats".
WWW maartenthart.nl𝕏 HartMaarten

Selected bibliography

Stenen voor een ransuilRatten; English translation: Rats Ik had een wapenbroederHet vrome volkEen vlucht regenwulpen; English translation: Flight of Curlews De aansprekers; English translation: Bearers of Bad Tidings De droomkoninginDe kroongetuigeDe ortolaanDe jacobsladderHet uur tussen hond en wolfDe steile hellingOnder de korenmaatHet Woeden der Gehele WereldDe nakomerDe zonnewijzer; English translation: The Sundial Lotte WeedaHet psalmenoproer
  • ''De nachtstemmer''