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Maarten Maartens (1858-1915), whose
real name was Jozua Marius Willem van der Poorten Schwartz, was a Dutchman
who had lived in London in his youth. Though he wrote some Dutch verse, he
wrote the major part of his work in English. He published fourteen novels and
numerous short stories. During his lifetime he was a world-famous author, but
he was soon forgotten after his death. He did not deserve this fate; his
novels are really worth reading! God’s Fool is set in the fictional Dutch town of Koopstad. The novel’s ‘hero’, Elias Lossell, becomes deaf and blind when he is nine years old. The people around him can communicate with him by touching his hand and producing letters with their fingers. Although communication is possible, mentally he always remains a boy of nine. |
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Thanks to a somewhat thoughtless
testament Elias becomes the rightful owner of Volderdoes Zonen, tea-merchants.
His half-brothers, the twins Hendrik and Hubert, manage the firm on his
behalf. While Hubert is abroad, to promote the interests of the house in
China, Hendrik starts speculating with Elias’s money. When Hubert returns, he
gradually learns what his brother has done. He does not approve. This leads to
a conflict between the brothers that takes a dramatic turn. Hardcover, 15,8 x 23,5 cm, 368 pages. please inform me when this book comes out
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