Maria, Baroness Rosseels (23 October 1916 – 18 March 2005), also known with her

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 ...

"E. M. Vervliet", was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

writer.

Biography

The first years of her life, she lived in the Goedendagstraat in

Borgerhout Borgerhout () is the smallest district of Antwerp, Belgium. , the district houses 45,769 inhabitants on 3,93 km². It was an independent municipality until January 1983. The postal area code for Borgerhout is 2140. Geography Borgerhout is divided ...

. When Maria was 7 years old, the family moved to

Oostmalle Oostmalle is a village which is located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The village itself is part of the municipality of Malle. Oostmalle was an independent municipality until 1976. It has a surface area of 28.27 km² and in 2004 had 6, ...

, where she already started to write. She went to school at the "Heilig Graf" school for girls in

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

In 1933, the family moved to

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

and later to

Kalmthout Kalmthout () is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the villages of Kalmthout, Achterbroek, Heide, and Nieuwmoer. In 2021, Kalmthout had a population of 19,020. The total area is . In addition to Kalmth ...

. After three years of technical education she went to the College for Women in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. She started her professional career as a teacher at a school in Gierle, but she left the school to work, from 1941 up to 1944, at the department of internal affairs of the

Ministry of Labor The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. In 1945, she became secretary at ''De Pijl'', a publisher linked to the Flemish Catholic

Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

. In the meantime she made her first steps in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

as freelance journalist for the "De Courant", a daily which appeared from 1937 until 1939. In 1947 she became editor at the daily

De Standaard ''De Standaard'' (meaning ''The Standard'' in English) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and F ...

where she would eventually become the movie critic and author of the woman page. After her retirement in 1977 she continued working as a movie critic. Besides her journalism she created an impressive literary oeuvre. As a writer she created some important female characters. First of all Elisabeth from the Elisabeth trilogy, of which the first part appeared in 1953. As a Christian writer she drew attention with novels such as ''Ik was een christen'' (E: I was a Christian) (1957), ''Dood van een non'' (E: Dead of a nun) (1961; movie in 1975 by P. Collet en P. Drouot) and ''Wacht niet op de morgen'' (E: Don't wait for the morning) (1969). Her best-known book was ''Dood van een non'' (1961), which was translated into several languages and was awarded on several occasions. Rosseels received an honorary PhD from the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

in 1981. She was knighted and became a

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

ess in 1988.

Bibliography

* ''Sterren in de poolnacht'' (1947) * ''Meer suers dan soets moet ic ghestadig dragen'' (1947) * ''Spieghelken'' (1952) * ''Elisabeth'' (I. De kloosterhoeve) (novel, 1953) * ''Elisabeth'' (II. Ick segh adieu) (novel, 1954) * ''Elisabeth'' (III. Het derde land) (novel, 1954) * ''Kunst van schaduwen en dromen'' (essay, 1954) * ''Het woord te voeren past den man'' (essay) Tielt: Lannoo, 1957. * ''Ik was een kristen. I. Het verraad'' (novel) Leuven: Boekengilde de Clauwaert, 1957. * ''Ik was een kristen. II. Achter de horizon'' (novel) Leuven: Boekengilde de Clauwaert, 1957. * ''Oosterse cocktail'' (novel, 1960) * ''Dood van een non.'' (novel) Leuven: Boekengilde de Clauwaert, 1961. * ''Nieuw dagboek van Spieghelken'' (Spieghelken II), (1963) * ''Spieghelken: dagboek van een jong meisje'' (novel) Tielt: Lannoo, 1964. * ''Liefde is een zeldzaam kruid'' (1966) * ''Gesprekken met gelovigen en ongelovigen'' (novel) Antwerpen: Standaard Uitgeverij, 1967. * ''Wacht niet op de morgen'' (1969) * ''Het oordeel, of : Vrijdag zingt de nachtegaal'' (novel) Lueven: Boekengilde de Clauwaert, 1975. * ''Verzameld scheppend proza'' (3 delen, 1981) * ''O Marolleke'' ( ? ) * ''Vrouwen in licht en schaduw'' ( 1964 ) * ''Van de liefde die doodt'' ( ? )

External links

Maria Rosseels

Maria Rosseels
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosseels, Maria 1916 births 2005 deaths Belgian Roman Catholics Flemish writers Barons of Belgium KU Leuven alumni Belgian women novelists People from Borgerhout Flemish women writers 20th-century Belgian novelists 20th-century Belgian women writers

Biography

Bibliography

See also

External links