Paul Biegel (1925-2006)
Paul Biegel, the grand old man of Dutch children’s literature, passed away at the age of 81. He died this weekend, on Saturday 21 October.
He is widely regarded as one of the best children’s books writers of The Netherlands. Nearly all Dutch children grow up with his Little Captain and he won the major literary prizes (the Golden Slate Pencil and the Woutertje Pieterse prize) a number of times. His first book, The Golden Gitar, was published in 1962 and more than 60 were published thereafter. The Gardens of Dorr, which he and many with him, regard as his masterpiece, was first printed in 1969. He was still very active and wrote a short story last year, Runaway.
Biegel’s books have been translated into 12 languages. It is remarkable that most of his foreign publishers have chosen to publish a number of his books, which indicates that his work has a universal appeal. In England, Germany and Spain 10 of his books were translated; in Japan 6; in South-Africa 5; 4 titles in France and Denmark. Other languages in which translations are available are Greek, Russian, Swedish, Turkish and Welsh.
Biegel’s writing has enjoyed unabated success with both readers and critics. Oblivious to passing fashions and visibly enjoying playing with language, he relates his timeless tales of dwarfs, princesses, witches, robbers and talking animals. His world is that of the fairytale, with a riddle to be solved, a scraggy hero and the eternal struggle between Good and Evil.
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photo Roeland Fossen