Tine Van Berken

Dutch writer of children's books. Tine van Berken was the pen name of Anna Christina Berkhout. She also used the pen name Anna Koubert as writer for adults, but she is best known as the first Dutch writer of girl's books. She was born in The Amsterdam Jordaan as the daughter of Gymnasium teacher in gymnastics Hermanus Berkhout (b. 1845). In 1888 she became a teacher, on 5 December 1895 she married the 27 years old clerk Christoffel Cornelis Witmond in Amsterdam. Her last poetry work before she died was Zonnige daagjes (Sunny days, 1899). She died age 29 on 7 December 1899 in Amsterdam from tuberculosis. After her sudden death she became famous. Most of her writings were published and illustrated after her death : See DBNL. Her motto was: "Er is maar een zonde: - gebrek aan hart" (there is only one sin : - lack of heart). She inspired the Flemish magic realistic writer Johan Daisne, who wrote the play "Tine van Berken" (1945), "Tine van Berken, of de intelligentie der ziel" (Tine van Berken, or the intelligence of the soul, 1962) and let her figure in his book "De Trap van steen en wolken" (The staircase of stone and clouds, 1942). Link to Dutch Wikipedia