Havank, pseudonym of Hendrikus Frederikus (Hans) van der Kallen (February 19, 1904 – June 22, 1964), was a Dutch writer, journalist, and translator. He published over 30 crime novels and is considered one of the founding fathers of the Dutch detective genre.
Biography
Van der Kallen was born in
Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Stadsfries dialects, Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Fri ...
and, under the
pen-name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
of Havank, published over 30 crime-novels and stories, with as principal characters French police officers Bruno Silvère and Charles C.M. Carlier (the latter better known as ''De Schaduw'', "the Shadow").
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Havank worked as an editor, and occasionally as a war correspondent, for the London edition of the Dutch weekly ''
Vrij Nederland
''Vrij Nederland'' (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The originally weekly and now monthly magazi ...
''. Shortly after the war, he was invited to ghost-write the memoirs of Lieutenant-Colonel
Oreste Pinto Oreste Pinto (9 October 1889 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands – 18 September 1961 in London, England) was a Dutch counterintelligence officer and Lieutenant-Colonel. His activities during the Second World War, in which he worked with MI5 interrogatin ...
, the original spycatcher. These memoirs were serialized in the ''
News Chronicle
The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...
''.
Havank also translated some 45 novels into
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
, mainly those of fellow
crime writer
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events.
The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
s like
Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 12 May 1907 – 15 April 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter.Raymond Chandler, and E. Phillips Oppenheim. Since the mid-1950s, his books were published in paperback editions with covers designed by the illustrator
Dick Bruna
Dick Bruna (born Hendrik Magdalenus Bruna, 23 August 1927 – 16 February 2017) was a Dutch author, artist, illustrator and graphic designer.
Bruna was best known for his children's books which he authored and illustrated, numbering over 200. His ...
. Havank is estimated to have sold more than 6 million copies in his lifetime. His books remained in print until the early 1980s when sales began to decline. However, they still are available in
print-on-demand
Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which book copies (or other documents, packaging or materials) are not printed until the company receives an order, allowing prints of single or small quantities. While oth ...
editions. To date, only two of the books have been translated into another language; both in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
but published in Switzerland. After his death, an unfinished novel was finished and published by journalist Pieter Terpstra, who continued to churn out Havank titles under the name Havank-Terpstra.
Havank lived most of his life abroad in the south of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
), and in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He died of a heart attack back in Leeuwarden, less than thirty yards distance from his birthplace. The Dutch forensic system, , links criminals and their fingerprints via what is called a HAVANK number.