Antonia "Tonke" Johanna Willemina Dragt (born 12 November 1930) is a Dutch writer and illustrator of children's literature. Her book ''
De brief voor de Koning'' was chosen by
CPNB as the best Dutch youth book of the latter half of the twentieth century.
Biography
Childhood in Batavia
Antonia Johanna Willemina Dragt, better known as Tonke Dragt, was born in 1930 in Batavia on the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
(currently
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
) as the eldest daughter of a Dutch insurance agent based in Batavia. Dragt was initially called "Tonneke" (Dutch for 'tubby'), a name she disliked "because I was tall and thin".
She attended the
Nassau School.
Her family environment was creative: her father and one of her sisters were also interested in writing and the Dragt family had their own 'house library'. The inspiration for several of her early novels such as ''De brief voor de koning'' en ''Geheimen van het Wilde Woud'' were taken from her yearly Summer holidays at
Puncak
Puncak or Puncak Pass (Indonesian for "top" or "peak") is a mountain pass in West Java, Indonesia. The pass connects the city of Bogor and Bandung, and is spread within the regencies of Bogor, Cianjur, and Sukabumi. Puncak Pass is located betwee ...
and
Situgunung.
During the
Second World War
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 opposin ...
, Dragt, her mother and her two sisters were interned in Japanese prisoner's camp
Tjideng. The situation in the camp was adverse, shortages of food and other essentials were prevalent. As reading had been her biggest hobby, Dragt found herself often bored as there were no novels. To solve this problem, aged 13, she and her friend Tineke decided to write a novel, ''De jacht op de touwkleurige'' (''The hunt for the rope-coloured'') 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 ...
Tito Drastra. Dragt also provided illustrations for this novel. A second, never completed book, ''De Florentijnse ring'' would be a motive for a part of her debut novel ''De verhalen van de tweelingbroers''.
Both novels were written on loose sheets of used paper and toilet rolls due to the lack of proper notebooks.
After the liberation, Dragt was reunited with her father and family moved to the Netherlands, where they first came to live in
Dordrecht
Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...
in 1949 and subsequently moved to
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
. Dragt could never return to Indonesia, initially because she lacked money, later because her health would not allow it anymore.
Life in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, she completed her
HBS exams and subsequently was enrolled at the Academy of Visual Arts in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
. Her dream was to become a full-time artist, but her parents encouraged her to do something which would lead to making enough income to take care of herself.
As a result, she focused on becoming an art teacher.
Dragt afterwards did most of her writing at night time while working as a drawing teacher at primary schools during the day. She had problems with controlling her classroom as a teacher, as classes were often filled with forty to fifty children due to the
babyboom. She quickly noticed that by telling stories, she could calm her pupils down.
This experience would lead to the inspiration for Frans van der Steg, the protagonist in her novel ''De zevensprong''.
In 1956, her first work was accepted in several magazines and newspapers, most notably the magazine ''Kris Kras''. Five years later, her debut book appeared and was received well by critics.
She made a big name for herself with her second novel in 1962, ''De brief voor de koning'' (''The Letter for the King''), which won the award for being the best Dutch children's book of the year. She continued to produce at a high rhythm during the 1960s, but massively reduced the output of new work in the next decades, although collections of older short stories filled up many of the gaps.
Apart from writing and illustrating her own books, Tonke Dragt also made illustrations for some other books, including work by
Paul Biegel
Paulus Johannes "Paul" Biegel (; 25 March 1925 – 21 October 2006) was a successful and prolific Dutch writer of children's literature.
Biography
Paul Biegel was born in Bussum in 1925. His father, Hermann Biegel, was of German descent, and own ...
,
E. Nesbit,
Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...
, and the novel ''
Elidor
''Elidor'' is a children's fantasy novel by the British author Alan Garner, published by Collins in 1965. Set primarily in modern Manchester, it features four English children who enter a fantasy world, fulfill a quest there, and return to find ...
'' by
Alan Garner
Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...
.
Throughout the decade, the work of Tonke Dragt was translated into many languages, including
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
**Ger ...
,
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
,
Czech,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
,
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
and
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
. It would take until 2013 before her first novel was translated into
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
Style and themes
Many of the books and stories by Tonke Dragt are situated in a fantasy or science fiction environment, although usually closely related to or intertwined with the real world.
[ ''De brief voor de koning'', ''Geheimen van het Wilde Woud'', and a few short stories, are set in a fictional medieval world. ''Torenhoog en mijlenbreed'', ''Ogen van tijgers'', and related stories, are near-future science fiction stories, where the action happens on ]Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
and Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. ''De torens van februari'' alternates between our world and a parallel world. ''De zevensprong'' is most firmly set in a realistic setting.
Dragt uses elements of legends and fables, most clearly in ''Verhalen van de tweelingbroers''. Her stories are mainly focused on one or a few male protagonists, often teenagers. They go on a personal quest, a search that may be externalized in an item like the letter in ''De brief voor de koning'', but which results in a discovery of their own persona.[ Dragt admitted that she used male characters as it was more logical in her historic settings, for example the ]Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
in ''De brief voor de koning'', in which females played a smaller role. On top of that, she called the traditional "girl books" of her time "slow", preferring to read books aimed at boys.
Tonke Dragt's style and themes were considered to be unique in Dutch children's literature as up to the 1960s, most Dutch children's literature was set in a day-to-day realistic setting, involving young children. In the 1960s, Dragt, alongside Thea Beckman
Theodora Beckmann (née Petie; 23 July 1923 – 5 May 2004), better known by her pen name Thea Beckman, was a Dutch author of children's books.
Biography
At a young age, Beckman knew she wanted to be a writer. As a teenager, she would write num ...
started pioneering children's literature with their thick books involving protagonists in historical fantasy and science fiction settings.
Dragt long admired British children's literature
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
for its fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
tradition, stating that Dutch literature demanded realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
. In a 2019 interview, Dragt therefore recalled her first call with Miep Diekmann
Miep Diekmann (26 January 1925 – 9 July 2017) was a Dutch writer of children's literature.
Early life
Diekmann was born in 1925 in Assen. Her father worked in the military and as a result the family moved several times: Diekmann moved to Ka ...
, who worked as an editor at Leopold at the time and was not entirely convinced by the first ''Verhalen van de tweelingbroers'' manuscript, stating that fables were out of fashion. Diekmann was also concerned with the thickness of the book, totalling over 350 pages, which was unusual for a children's book at the time. However, she was charmed by the illustrations and storytelling ability, calling Dragt "talented".
Dragt's first books and their illustrations were mainly inspired by her childhood in Batavia
Batavia may refer to:
Historical places
* Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands
* Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
and by the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. She incorporated settings in her story which were considered exotic by Dutch people, with ''Geheimen van het Wilde Woud'' and ''De brief voor de koning'' partially being set in rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
s and on mountains, knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
s with chain mail armour. In ''Verhalen van de tweelingbroers'', the main setting of the story, the city Bainoe, strongly resembles Batavia in illustrations, while the illustrated characters in the story wear Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
fashion, with the main characters Jiacomo and Laurenzo wearing a giornea and a cap.
Success of ''The Letter for the King''
The book ''The Letter for the King'' (Dutch: '' De brief voor de Koning'') has sold over 1 million copies so far. The book has been translated many times, and reached its 22nd printing in Dutch in 2007 and its 61st printing in 2021.
In 2007, it premiered as a musical theater piece. This was the second theater production based on the works of Tonke Dragt, after an adaptation of ''De Zevensprong''.[
In 2015 a sequel, The Secrets of the Wild Wood, was translated into English.
The film based on the book, starring ]Derek de Lint
Dick Hein "Derek" de Lint (; born 17 July 1950) is a Dutch film and television actor, known for playing the role of Derek Rayne in '' Poltergeist: The Legacy''.
Life and career
Dick Hein de Lint was born on 17 July 1950 in The Hague in the N ...
was released in the summer of 2008. In 2020 Netflix presented a six episodes series loosely based on the book, starring Amir Wilson.
Bibliography
Awards
* 1963: Kinderboek van het Jaar (Children's book of the Year, the predecessor of the Gouden Griffel) for ''De brief voor de koning''[
* 1971: ]Nienke van Hichtum-prijs
The Nienke van Hichtum-prijs (Dutch for Nienke van Hichtum Prize) is a biennial Dutch literary award for children's literature awarded by the Jan Campert-Stichting. The award is named after children's author Nienke van Hichtum and was first awar ...
for ''Torenhoog en mijlenbreed''
* 1976: Staatsprijs voor kinder- en jeugdliteratuur (the highest award in the Dutch language area for a youth author, can be won only once per author)[
* 1995: ]Buxtehude Bull
The Buxtehude Bull (German: Buxtehuder Bulle) is an award for youth literature, established in 1971 by Winfried Ziemann, a local book merchant from Buxtehude, a Hanseatic City located in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The town council took over ...
, an Award for youth literature given by the city of Buxtehude, for the German translation of ''De torens van Februari''
* 2004: Griffel der Griffels for ''De brief voor de koning'' (award for the best Dutch children's book of the past fifty years)[
* 2005: Victorine Hefting Award, an award for women in The Hague who have contributed to the cultural emancipation of women][
]
References
External links
*
Biography
at her publisher Leopold
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragt, Tonke
1930 births
Living people
Dutch children's writers
Dutch children's book illustrators
Dutch illustrators
Dutch women illustrators
Dutch women children's writers
Dutch historical novelists
People from Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Nienke van Hichtum Prize winners