Hélène Serafia Haasse
| Hella Haasse | |
|---|---|
In 2007
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| Born | Hélène Serafia Haasse 2 February 1918 Batavia, Dutch East Indies |
| Died | 29 September 2011 (aged 93) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Alma mater | University of Amsterdam |
| Period | 1948–2011 |
| Subject | Historical novels, Dutch East Indies-Netherlands relationship |
| Notable awards | 19 total (inc. 2 honorary degrees and P.C. Hooft Award) |
| Spouse | Jan van Lelyveld (1944–2008; his death); 3 children |
Hélène "Hella" Serafia Haasse (2 February 1918 – 29 September 2011) was a Dutch writer, often referred to as "the Grand Old Lady" of Dutch literature, and whose novel Oeroeg (1948) was a staple for generations of Dutch schoolchildren. Her internationally acclaimed magnum opus is "Heren van de Thee", translated to "The Tea Lords". In 1988 Haasse was chosen to interview the Dutch Queen for her 50th birthday after which celebrated Dutch author Adriaan van Dis called Haasse "the Queen among authors".
Haasse has the first Dutch digital online museum dedicated to the life and work of an author. The museum was opened in 2008 on her 90th birthday.
Haasse has an asteroid named after her.
Hélène Serafia Haasse was born on 2 February 1918 in Batavia (now Jakarta), the capital of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). She was the daughter of civil servant and author Willem Hendrik Haasse (1889–1955) and concert pianist Katharina Diehm Winzenhöhler (1893–1983). She had a brother Wim who was born in 1921. The Haasse family was not very religious.
Before Haasse's first birthday, the family moved from Batavia to Buitenzorg (Bogor), because her mother's health would benefit from the milder climate. In 1920, the family moved to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where her father got a temporary job at the city hall. In 1922, the family moved back to the Indies to Soerabaja (Surabaya). Here Haasse went to kindergarten and later to a Catholic primary school, because this was the nearest school. When her mother became ill and went to a sanatory in Davos, Haasse was first sent to her maternal grandparents in Heemstede and then her paternal grandparents in Baarn, and she later stayed at a boarding school in Baarn. In 1928, her mother was recovered and all family members moved back to the Indies to Bandoeng (Bandung).
In 1930, the Haasse family moved again to Buitenzorg, and a year later again to Batavia. Here she went to the secondary school Bataviaas Lyceum, where Haasse became an active member of the literary club Elcee. In 1935, the family visited the Netherlands, after which Haasse became aware of differences between the Dutch and East Indian society. Haasse graduated from the Lyceum in 1938.
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