Bosboom-Toussaint, Geertruida

WRITER (THE NETHERLANDS)
BORN 16 Sep 1812, Alkmaar, Noord-Holland - DIED 1 Apr 1886, Den Haag, Zuid-Holland
BIRTH NAME Toussaint, Anna Louisa Geertruida
GRAVE LOCATION Den Haag, Zuid-Holland: Algemene Begraafplaats, Kerkhoflaan 12 (A II N.O. vierkant)

The author Geertruida Bosboom-Toussaint was best known for her historical novels and short stories. She was the daughter of the apothecary Hendrik Toussaint. She couldn't get along with her mother and she lived with her grandmother and aunts in Harlingen. In 1828 she returned to her birthplace Alkmaar. She passed a teacher's examination, but instead of teaching she turned to writing. Her novels "Almagro" (1837) en "De graaf van Devonshire" (1838) showed great promise and E.J. Potgieter advised her to start writing historical novels.

In 1840 "Het huis Lauernesse" was published and by that time she was a well known author. Many historical novels followed. In 1846 "Leycester in Nederland" was published. A long engagement with the literary critic Reinier Bakhuizen van den Brink was broken off and she married the painter Johannes Bosboom in 1851. They lived in The Hague.

In the 1860s she befriended the critic Conrad Busken Huet. In 1875 she published the work for which she is best remembered, "Majoor Frans", a moving love story. She died in 1886 in The Hague.

Family
• Husband: Bosboom, Johannes (1851-1886)

Related persons
• was a friend of Busken Huet, Conrad

Images

The grave of Johannis Bosboom and Anna Bosboom-Toussaint at the Gemeentelijke Begraafplaats, Den Haag.
Picture by Androom (03 Aug 2007)

 

Sources
• Broek, Annet van den, Koos Groen, Hun Laatste Rustplaats, Bosch & Keuning, Baarn, 1985


Bosch, Carl

Published: 21 May 2021
Last update: 02 Feb 2022