Rudolf van Reest (12 April 1897 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

– 29 November 1979 in

Groenekan Groenekan is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt, and lies about 3 km west of Bilthoven. History It was first mentioned in 1607 as De Groene Kan, and is a reference to an inn with a green ...

) was the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of the

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 ...

writer Karel Cornelis van Spronsen. Besides writing novels, he also wrote for the Dutch newspaper, originally a resistance periodical, ''

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). ''Tr ...

''. Themes of his oeuvre include religious small-mindedness of small, rural communities and the 'nobility' to which adherence to the true nature of the Christian faith can elevate believers from all walks of life.

Biography

Rudolf van Reest is 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 Karel Cornelis van Spronsen, son of Gerard van Spronsen and Johanna Westdijk. He married Maria Taal on 27 October 1921, in

Voorschoten Voorschoten () is a village and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is a smaller town in the Randstad, enclosed by the cities of Leiden, Wassenaar and The Hague. The municipality covers an area of of whi ...

. In 1931, Van Reest wrote his first novel, which was followed by a series of novels, such as ''De grote verwachting'' (''The great expectation'') and ''Het loon der genade'' (''Forgiveness' reward''), and also wrote histories and biographies. From 1933 to 1939 he lived in

Baarn Baarn () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, near Hilversum in the province of Utrecht. The municipality of Baarn The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche. The town of Baarn Ba ...

, and was editor-in-chief at the publishing firm of ''Oosterbaan en Le Cointre N.V.'' During World War II he was active in the

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

. After the

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

of The Netherlands in 1945, he was made a captain in the Military Authority at

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

with the assignment to eliminate the press which had co-operated with the Germans, and to establish the press which had worked "underground." In 1946, Karel and his wife, Marie, made a trip to Canada, and also to the United States to visit Karel's brother, Cornelis van Spronsen, and his wife, Anna, and their family. He remained in America a year. This visit is described in his book, ''Van Kust tot Kust''. (''From Coast to Coast''). From 1947 to 1961 Van Spronsen worked as director of the publishing house ''Oosterbaan en Le Cointre N.V.'' at

Goes Goes () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland, in the province of Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents. History Goes was founded in the 10th century on the edge of a creek: de Korte ...

, and later moved to

. Maria van Spronsen-Taal died 10 November 1970 and Karel van Spronsen died in 1979. Both are buried in

Bilthoven Bilthoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health an ...

Bibliography

This is not a complete list: *1934 Zo'n rakker *1936 Soestdijk Palace, Paleis Soestdijk, de prinselijke woning *1937 Kuyper de Geweldige (with AC de Gooyer) *1937 Levensroman van dr. H. Colijn *1937 Menschen van de straat *1940 'n Onbegriepelijk mensch - het leven van Mr. W Bilderdijk *1941 Die van verre staan *1945 De Trouw der kleyne luyden *1946 Een bloedgetuige der Kerk - het leven en sterven van Johannes Kapteyn, Gereformeerd Predikant *1948 Van Kust tot Kust *1950 De Andere Wereld *1952 De Samaritaan *1953 De Grote Verwachting - Historische Roman uit de Volheid des Tijds (translated into English as ''Israel's Hope and Expectation'') *1953 - 1958 Dichterschap en Profetie (4 volumes) *1955 Het loon der genade: een sociale roman uit het begin dezer eeuw *1956 Dirk Sterrenburg *1956 De Zoon *1965 De Wilde Christen *1969 De braambos (2 dln) - Geschiedenis Vrijmaking en vrijgemaakte kerk *1972 Terugzien na vijfentwintig jaren *1979 Door water en vuur: een verhaal uit de bezettingstijd *1990 Schilder's Struggle for the Unity of the Church (translation of earlier publication) *year of publication not known: Vergeefse Vlucht, Glascultuur

References and further reading

*''Genealogy of the Van Spronsen Family'', autobiography of Karel van Spronsen *''K.C. van Spronsen (Rudolf van Reest): 1897 - 1977'', in ''De Reformatie'', volume 52, no. 26 (405-418) (2 April 1977) *''Digitale bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren'' http://www.dbnl.org/auteurs/auteur.php?id=rees006 (retrieved 18/06/2011) *''Betoverde herinnering, 2: een vreemdeling in een vreemd land : Rudolf van Reest in Amerika / George Harinck'', in: ''Liter'' Zoetermeer: vol. 4 (2001), afl. 16 (mrt), pag. 57-66. *''Reest, Rudolf van. Glascultuur''. Baarn, 1947 / P.J. Risseeuw. In: ''Ontmoeting'': vol. 2 (1947–1948), pag. 229. *''Reest, Rudolf van. De trouw der kleyne luyden: roman uit de Rotterdamse rampjaren van 1940-1945''. Baarn, 1947] / Joh. van Hulzen. In: ''Ontmoeting'': vol. 2 (1947–1948), pag. 234. *''Reest, Rudolf van. De zoon''. Baarn, 1956] / Gerrit van Heerde. In: ''Ontmoeting'': vol. 10 (1956–1957), afl. 8 (mei 1957), pag. 255-256. {{DEFAULTSORT:Reest, Rudolf Van 1897 births 1979 deaths Resistance members from Rotterdam Writers from Rotterdam 20th-century Dutch journalists

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References and further reading