Louis Couperus

Louis Marie Anne Couperus (10 June 1863 – 16 July 1923) was a Dutch novelist and poet. His oeuvre contains a wide variety of genres: lyric poetry, psychological and historical novels, novellas, short stories, fairy tales, feuilletons and sketches. Couperus is considered to be one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature. In 1923, he was awarded the Tollensprijs (Tollens Prize).

Couperus and his wife travelled extensively in Europe and Asia, and he later wrote several related travelogues which were published weekly.

Youth

thumb|upright|Couperus as a child

Louis Marie-Anne Couperus was born on 10 June 1863 at Mauritskade 11 in The Hague, Netherlands, into a long-established, Indo family of the colonial landed gentry of the Dutch East Indies. He was the eleventh and youngest child of John Ricus Couperus (1816–1902), a prominent colonial administrator, lawyer and landheer or lord of the private domain (particuliere land) of Tjikopo in Java, and Catharina Geertruida Reynst (1829–1893). Through his father, he was a great-grandson of Abraham Couperus (1752–1813), Governor of Malacca, and Willem Jacob Cranssen (1762–1821), Governor of Ambon with a female-line, Eurasian lineage that goes back even earlier to the mid-eighteenth century. When Louis reached the age of five, his youngest sister, Trudy, was twelve years old and his youngest brother, Frans, eleven. going to school in Batavia.

Here he met his cousin, Elisabeth Couperus-Baud, for the first time. In his novel De zwaluwen neergestreken (The swallows flew down), he wrote about his youth:

: "We are cousins and have played together. We danced together at children's balls. We still have our baby pictures. She was dressed in a marquise dress and I was dressed as a page. My garment was made of black velvet and I was very proud of my first travesti."

In the Dutch East Indies, Couperus also met his future brother-in-law for the first time, Gerard de la Valette (a writer and official at the Dutch Indian Government who would marry his sister Trudy), who wrote in 1913 about his relationship with Couperus:

: We met first at Batavia, when he was a boy of ten years and I was a young man. We saw each other at rather large intervals. Yet I saw him often enough, as a boy and a young man, that we developed a good and familiar relationship.

Meanwhile, Couperus wrote a novella called Een ster ("A Star"), which was published in "Nederland" and made a journey to Sweden. In October that same year, he travelled to Paris, where he received a letter from his publisher-to-be, L.J. Veen, asking permission to publish Noodlot, which offer Couperus rejected because this book was supposed to be published by Elsevier. after Couperus finished his new book Extaze in October 1891 he wrote Uitzichten ("Views") and started with his new romantic and spiritual novella Epiloog ("Epilogue"). and wrote to Couperus to compliment him with his book. Meanwhile, a committee was formed to celebrate Couperus' 60th birthday and gather funds as a birthday gift. Couperus' health deteriorated rapidly and apart from lung and liver problems Couperus suffered from an infection in his nose. During Couperus birthday party a sum of 12,000 guilders was handed over to him and speeches were held by Lodewijk van Deyssel and minister Johannes Theodoor de Visser; Couperus was also appointed knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. During the following reception minister Herman Adriaan van Karnebeek and Albert Vogel, among many others, paid Couperus their respect. On 11 July 1923, Couperus was brought to hospital (in Velp), because the infection in his nose had not healed, but came back home a day later. He now suffered from erysipelas as well as sepsis in the nose. He fell into a coma on 14 July, remained in that state for two days with high fever and died on 16 July 1923. He was cremated at Westerveld, where Gustaaf Paul Hecking Coolenbrander (a nephew), among others, spoke to remember Couperus.

Bibliography

thumb|upright|Cover of Eline Vere designed by [[Ludwig Willem Reymert Wenckebach]]

thumb|upright|Cover of Extaze designed by [[Hendrik Petrus Berlage]]

thumb|upright|Cover of Psyche designed by [[Jan Toorop]]

thumb|upright|Cover of De boeken der kleine zielen. Zielenschemering designed by

Books published during Couperus' life

Poetry

Een lent van vaerzen (1884) ("A ribbon of poems")
Orchideeën. Een bundel poëzie en proza (1886) ("Orchids, a collection of prose and poetry")
Williswinde (1895) ("Williswinde")

Novels

<small>Translations by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos [1865-1921] unless noted otherwise.</small>

Eline Vere (1889); Translated into English by J. T. Grein as Eline Vere (1892); revised translation published in 2009 by Holland Park Press and new translation published in 2010 by Archipelago Books, NY.
Noodlot (1890); Translated into English by Clara Bell as Footsteps of Fate (1891).
Extaze. Een boek van geluk (1892); Translated into English as Ecstasy: A Study of Happiness (1897).
Majesteit (1893); Translated into English as Majesty: A Novel (1895)
Wereldvrede (1895) ("World peace")
Metamorfoze (1897) ("Metamorphosis")
Langs lijnen der geleidelijkheid (1900); Translated into English as Inevitable, The Inevitable (1920) or The Law Inevitable (1921).
De stille kracht (1900); Translated into English as The Hidden Force: A Story of Modern Java (1921); revised edition with an introduction and notes by E.M. Beekman (1939–2008), Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, 1985, 1992.
De boeken der kleine zielen. De kleine zielen (1901); Translated into English as The books of small souls. Small Souls (1914).
De boeken der kleine zielen. Het late leven (1902); Translated into English as The books of small souls. The Later Life (1915).
De boeken der kleine zielen. Zielenschemering (1902); Translated into English as The books of small souls. The Twilight of the Souls (1917).
De boeken der kleine zielen. Het heilige weten (1903); Translated into English as The books of small souls. Dr. Adriaan (1918).
Dionyzos (1904)
De berg van licht (1905/6) ("The mountain of light")
Van oude menschen, de dingen, die voorbij gaan... (1906); Translated into English as Old People and the Things that Pass (1918)
Antiek toerisme. Roman uit Oud-Egypte (1911); Translated into English as The Tour: A Story of Ancient Egypt (1920)
Herakles (1913)
De ongelukkige (1915) ("The unhappy one")
De komedianten (1917); Translated into English by Jacobine Menzies-Wilson as The Comedians: A Story of Ancient Rome (1926).
De verliefde ezel (1918) ("The donkey in love")
Xerxes of de hoogmoed (1919); Translated into English by Frederick H. Martens as Arrogance: The Conquests of Xerxes (1930).
Iskander. De roman van Alexander den Groote (1920)

Novellas, fairy tales, and short stories

Eene illuzie (1892) ("An illusion")
Hooge troeven (1896) ("High trumps")
Psyche (1898); Translated into English by B. S. Berrington as Psyche (1908).
Fidessa (1899)
Babel (1901)
God en goden (1903)
Aan den weg der vreugde (1908) ("On the road of happiness")
De ode (1919)
Lucrezia (1920)
Het zwevende schaakbord (1922) ("The floating chessboard")

Short stories and sketches

<small>Louis Couperus wrote hundreds of short stories, sketches, travel impressions, and letters, which were first published as feuilletons. Those feuilletons were later bundled and published as books.</small>

Reis-impressies (1894) ("Travel impressions")
Over lichtende drempels (1902) ("Over Shining Doorsteps")
Van en over mijzelf en anderen. Eerste bundel (1910) ("About me and others. Volume I")
Antieke verhalen van goden en keizers, van dichters en hetaeren (1911) ("Antique Stories, about gods and emperors, of poets and hetaeras")
Korte arabesken (1911) ("Short Arabesques")
De zwaluwen neêr gestreken... (1911) ("The Swallows Landed")
Schimmen van schoonheid (1912) ("Shadows of beauty")
Uit blanke steden onder blauwe lucht. Eerste bundel (1912) ("From white cities under a blue sky. Volume I")
Uit blanke steden onder blauwe lucht. Tweede bundel (1913) ("From white cities under a blue sky. Volume II")
Van en over mijzelf en anderen. Tweede bundel (1914) ("About me and others. Volume II")
Van en over alles en iedereen (1915) ("About everything and everyone"):
Rome ("Rome")
Genève, Florence ("Geneva, Florence")
Sicilië, Venetië, München ("Sicily, Venice, Munich")
Van en over mijzelf en anderen ("About me and others")
Spaansch toerisme ("Spanish tourism")
Van en over mijzelf en anderen. Derde bundel (1916) ("About me and others. Volume III")
Van en over mijzelf en anderen. Vierde bundel (1917) ("About me and others. Volume IV")
Jan en Florence (1917) ("Jan and Florence")
Wreede portretten (1917) ("Cruel portraits")
Legende, mythe en fantazie (1918) ("Legend, myth and fantasy")
Der dingen ziel (1918) ("The Soul of Things")
Brieven van den nutteloozen toeschouwer (1918) ("Letters of the useless spectator")
Elyata (1919)
De betoveraar (1919) ("The enchanter")
Met Louis Couperus in Afrika (1921) ("With Louis Couperus in Africa")
Oostwaarts (1923); Translated into English by Jacobine Menzies-Wilson as Eastward (1924).
Proza. Eerste bundel (1923) ("Prose. Volume I")
Het snoer der ontferming (1924) ("The String of Compassion")
Proza. Tweede bundel (1924) ("Prose. Volume II")
Nippon (1925); Translated into English by John De La Valette as Nippon (1926).
Proza. Derde bundel (1925) ("Prose. Volume III")

Miscellaneous

De verzoeking van den H. Antonius (1896)

Verzamelde werken (Collected Works)

Jeugdwerk; Eline Vere; Novellen (1953)
Noodlot; Extase; Majesteit; Wereldvrede; Hoge troeven (1953)
Metamorfose; Psyche; Fidessa; Langs lijnen van geleidelijkheid (1953)
De stille kracht; Babel; Novellen; De zonen der zon; Jahve; Dionysos (1953)
De boeken der kleine zielen (1952)
Van oude mensen de dingen die voorbijgaan; De berg van licht (1952)
Aan de weg der vreugde; Antiek toerisme; Verhalen en arabesken (1954)
Herakles; Verhalen en dagboekbladen; Uit blanke steden onder blauwe lucht (1956)
Lucrezia; De ongelukkige; Legenden en portretten (1956)
De komedianten; De verliefde ezel; Het zwevende schaakbord (1955)
Xerxes; Iskander (1954)
Verhalen (1957)

Volledige werken Louis Couperus (Complete Works)

Een lent van vaerzen (1988)
Orchideeën. Een bundel poëzie en proza (1989)
Eline Vere. Een Haagsche roman (1987)
Noodlot (1990)
Extaze. Een boek van geluk (1990)
Eene illuzie (1988)
Majesteit (1991)
Reis-impressies (1988)
Wereldvrede (1991)
Williswinde (1990)
Hooge troeven (1991)
De verzoeking van den H. Antonius (1992)
Metamorfoze (1988)
Psyche (1992)
Fidessa (1992)
Langs lijnen van geleidelijkheid (1989)
De stille kracht (1989)
Babel (1993)
De boeken der kleine zielen. I en II (1991)
De boeken der kleine zielen. III en IV (1991)
Over lichtende drempels (1993)
God en goden (1989)
Dionyzos (1988)
De berg van licht (1993)
Van oude menschen, de dingen, die voorbij gaan... (1988)
Aan den weg der vreugde (1989)
Van en over mijzelf en anderen (1989)
Antieke verhalen. Van goden en keizers, van dichters en hetaeren (1993)
Korte arabesken (1990)
Antiek toerisme. Roman uit Oud-Egypte (1987)
De zwaluwen neêr gestreken... (1993)
Schimmen van schoonheid (1991)
Uit blanke steden onder blauwe lucht (1994)
Herakles (1994)
Van en over alles en iedereen (1990)
De ongelukkige (1994)
De komedianten (1992)
Legende, mythe en fantazie (1994)
De verliefde ezel (1994)
De ode (1990)
Xerxes, of De hoogmoed (1993)
Iskander. De roman van Alexander den Groote (1995)
Met Louis Couperus in Afrika (1995)
Het zwevende schaakbord (1994)
Oostwaarts (1992)
Proza. Eerste bundel (1995)
Het snoer der ontferming. Japansche legenden (1995)
Nippon (1992)
Ongebundeld werk (1996)
Ongepubliceerd werk (1996)

Published letters

In two volumes: 1. Waarde heer Veen : (1890–1902) and 2. Amice : (1902–1919)