Hendrik Groen
Hendrik Groen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1954 Netherlands |
| Citizenship | Dutch |
| Occupations |
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Hendrik Groen is the pseudonym of Peter de Smet (born 1954), a Dutch writer. He is the author of the 2014 book Pogingen iets van het leven te maken: Het geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen, 83¼ jaar, and its sequel Zolang er Leven is: Het nieuwe geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen, 85 jaar in 2016. Both books won the Audience Award for the Dutch Book.
Pseudonym
[edit]For years, it was unknown who was hiding behind the pseudonym, which caused a lot of speculation, with names ranging from Sylvia Witteman to Arnon Grunberg. It was only in 2016 that the Dutch newspapers De Volkskrant and NRC Handelsblad revealed almost simultaneously that it was the then 62-year-old Peter de Smet.[1]
Career
[edit]In 2014, Groen published the book Pogingen iets van het leven te maken: Het geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen, 83¼ jaar, which was very successful, selling its foreign rights to over 35 countries, receiving the NS Public Prize 2016, and being adapted to both a stage play and a television series in 2017.[2][3] The play was directed by Gijs de Lange and had Beau Schneider in the role of Hendrik Groen.[4] Its sequel, Zolang er Leven is: Het nieuwe geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen, 85 jaar, was predictably a bestseller since its publication in 2016; in total, his diaries sold over half a million copies in the Netherlands and Flanders.[2] Hendrik Groen has been described as "Netherlands' cuddly elderly man" and as "the most beloved senior citizen of the Netherlands".[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Peter de Smet is Hendrik Groen". www.nrc.nl (in Dutch). 26 April 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Hendrik Groen". www.newdutchwriting.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ "Nieuwe serie: Het geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen" [New series: The secret diary of Hendrik Groen]. www.vprogids.nl (in Dutch). 17 October 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ "Hendrik Groen - Pogingen iets van het leven te maken" [Hendrik Groen - Attempts to make something of life]. www.bostheaterproducties.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ "Hendrik Groen - Biografie" [Hendrik Groen - Biografy]. detamboer.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 June 2025.