Louis Couperus

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Louis Couperus
Couperus in 1917
Born	June 10, 1863 The Hague, the Netherlands
Died	July 16, 1923

Louis Marie-Anne Couperus (June 10, 1863 – July 16, 1923) was a Dutch novelist and poet of the late 19th and early 20th Century. He is usually considered one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature.

Born in The Hague in 1863, Couperus grew up in a wealthy patrician family, spending part of his youth in the Dutch East Indies and going to school in Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia). Couperus was the grandson of a Governor General of the Dutch East Indies and many of his relatives were employed in the local government. After returning to The Hague in 1878, he published some early volumes of poetry and prose which garnered little success or critical attention. Couperus came to fame with the publication of his novel Eline Vere (1888), a naturalist work influenced by French novelists like Emile Zola and Gustave Flaubert. Couperus' 1891 novel Noodlot (Footsteps of Fate) was much admired by Oscar Wilde^[1], and many have noted stylistic similarities between Noodlot and Wilde's 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Couperus' later works include De Stille Kracht (The Hidden Force, 1900) and De Berg van Licht (The Mountain of Light, 1906), a decadent and seamy novel set at the height of the Roman Empire. His psychological novels, such as "De Boeken der Kleine Zielen" (1901-1902; translated as "The Books of the Small Souls") en "Van Oude Menschen, de Dingen, die Voorbij gaan..." (1906: translated as "Of old people and the Things that Pass") enjoyed much success in the English speaking countries after the First World War. His historical novels were very popular in Germany. Couperus' books received more attention abroad than in the calvinistic Netherlands of his days.

Fifty novels and volumes of collected stories by Couperus have been published. Couperus and his wife lived most of his life in boarding houses and rented villas in France and Italy. All their worldly goods and his large library were endlessly moved about in huge trunks and crates.

Couperus married his niece in 1891 and it seems likely that they chose not to have children. Settling in Venice until 1910, they then began travelling more broadly throughout Italy. Couperus himself is believed to have been homosexual but the strong conventions of his time and his shy nature seem to have kept him from choosing a life that would have suited his nature.

Contemporary gossip and his often homoerotic choice of subjects (Oscar Wilde, Heliogabalus, wrestlers on the Riviera) suggest that Couperus was gay. His wife went to great pains to ensure that all the letters and other insights into Couperus' private life disappeared after his death.

A renowned wit, raconteur and commentator, Couperus continued to publish critically and commercially successful work until his sudden death of sepsis in 1923.

[edit] Bibliography

Statue of Louis Couperus (Kees Verkade 1998), Lange Voorhout, The Hague

Een lent van vaerzen (1884)
Orchideeën (1886) (Orchids)
Eline Vere (1889)
Noodlot (1890) (Destiny)
Extaze. Een boek van geluk (1892) (Ectasy, a book of happiness)
Eene illuzie (1892) (An illusion)
Majesteit (1893) (Majesty)
Reis-impressies (1894) (Travel impressions)
Wereldvrede (1895) (World peace)
Williswinde (1895)
Hooge troeven (1896)
De verzoeking van den H. Antonius (1896)
Metamorfoze (1897) (Metamorphosis)
Psyche (1898)
Fidessa (1899)
Langs lijnen van geleidelijkheid (Translated to English as Inevitable) (1900)
De stille kracht (1900)
Babel (1901)
De boeken der kleine zielen. De kleine zielen (1901) (The books of small souls. The small souls)
De boeken der kleine zielen. Het late leven (1902) (The books of small souls. Late in life)
De boeken der kleine zielen. Zielenschemering (1902) (The books of small souls. Soul's twilight)
De boeken der kleine zielen. Het heilige weten (1903) (The books of small souls. The holy knowledge)
Over lichtende drempels (1902)
God en goden (1903) (God and gods)
Dionyzos (1904)
De berg van licht (1905/6) (The mountain of light)
Van oude menschen, de dingen, die voorbij gaan... (1906) (Of old people, the things that pass)
Aan den weg der vreugde (1908) (On the road to happiness)
Van en over mijzelf en anderen. Eerste bundel (1910) (About me and others)
Van en over mijzelf en anderen. Tweede bundel (1914) (About me and others II)
Van en over mijzelf en anderen. Derde bundel (1916) (About me and others III)
Van en over mijzelf en anderen. Vierde bundel (1917) (About me and others IV)
Antieke verhalen, van goden en keizers, van dichters en hetaeren (1911)
Korte arabesken (1911)
Antiek toerisme. Roman uit Oud-Egypte (1911)
De zwaluwen neêr gestreken... (1911)
Schimmen van schoonheid (1912)
Uit blanke steden onder blauwe lucht. Eerste bundel (1912)
Uit blanke steden onder blauwe lucht. Tweede bundel (1913)
Herakles (1913)
Van en over alles en iedereen (1915) (About everything and everyone)
De ongelukkige (1915) (The unhappy one)
De komedianten (1917) (The comedians)
Jan en Florence (1917) (Jan and Florence)
Wreede portretten (1917) (Cruel portrets)
Der dingen ziel (1918) (Soul's things)
Brieven van den nutteloozen toeschouwer (1918)
Legende, mythe en fantazie (1918) (Legend, myth and fantasy)
De verliefde ezel (1918) (The donkey in love)
De ode (1919)
Xerxes of de hoogmoed (1919)
Iskander. De roman van Alexander den Groote (1920)
Lucrezia (1920)
Met Louis Couperus in Afrika (1921) (With Louis Couperus in Africa)
Het zwevende schaakbord (1922) (The floating chessboard)
Oostwaarts (1923) (Towards the East)
Proza. Eerste bundel (1923)
Proza. Tweede bundel (1924)
Proza. Derde bundel (1925)
Het snoer der ontferming (1924)
Nippon (1925)