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| - | These two women, who often published their novels and other works together, are generally considered to be the only women writers who were permitted entry to “official” Dutch literary historiography. Elisabeth Wolff-Bekker (1738-1804) and Agatha Deken (1741-1804) are said to have inaugurated the history of the Dutch novel publishing in 1782 their epistolary novel ''De historie van Sara Burgerhart''. | + | __NOEDITSECTION__ |
| + | == The Wolff and Deken correspondence == | ||
| - | Both ladies, living together after the death of husband Rev. Wolff, found themselves the center of an important network of friends – literary and other – with whom letters were exchanged. P.J. Buijnsters, who also wrote a common biography, published this correspondence in 1987. Much, of course, has been lost: Buijnsters suggests that the two women destroyed letters at different phases of their life (Buijnsters, 49). For that reason probably, the 253 letters do not really illustrate the supposed, and much discussed, preference for other women. They address or had been sent by 63 different correspondents. Two thirds of the correspondence consists of letters to or from someone for whom we dispose of no more than this only letter. | ||
| - | The presence of colleague-authors as correspondents is limited, male as well as female (50). In the whole of the correspondence seventeen women writers are discussed or mentioned (cf. [http://www.databasewomenwriters.nl/results.asp?type=receptions&work_authorName=¬esfield=&work_Title=&rec_Year=&Editor_ID=geen&rec_authorName=&Rec_Title=&reference=&source_ID=157&pageSize=10&order=r.Year the list – not yet fully complete]), most of them compatriots – exceptions being for example Madame de Genlis and Madame d’Epinay whose works Elisabeth Wolff translated. To the former she even wrote a letter: it did not provoke any surviving answer, and possibly was never sent. | + | <br><br>These two women, who often published their novels and other works together, are generally considered to be the only 18th-century women permitted entry to “official” Dutch literary historiography. Elisabeth Wolff-Bekker (1738-1804) and Agatha Deken (1741-1804) are said to have inaugurated the history of the Dutch novel by publishing in 1782 their epistolary novel ''De historie van Sara Burgerhart''. <br><br> |
| + | Both ladies, living together after the death of husband Rev. Wolff, found themselves the center of an important network of friends – literary and other – with whom letters were exchanged. P.J. Buijnsters, who also wrote their biography, published this correspondence in 1987. Much, of course, has been lost: Buijnsters suggests that the two women destroyed letters at different phases of their life (Buijnsters, 49). For that reason possibly, the 253 letters do not really illustrate the supposed, and much discussed, preference for other women. Letters were sent to or by 63 different correspondents. Two thirds of the correspondence consists of letters to or from someone for whom no more than this only letter has been found.<br><br> | ||
| + | The presence of colleagues-authors as correspondents is limited, male as well as female (Buijnsters, 50). In the whole of the correspondence we found seventeen women writers (cf. [http://www.databasewomenwriters.nl/results.asp?type=receptions&work_authorName=¬esfield=&work_Title=&rec_Year=&Editor_ID=geen&rec_authorName=&Rec_Title=&reference=&source_ID=157&pageSize=10&order=r.Year discussed or mentioned]). They concern twelve women, five of them compatriots. Relations with them were of varying nature: Van Merken was admired; Epinay translated by Wolff, but not mentioned more than once; but to Genlis - also translated ánd admired - Wolff even wrote a letter (in Dutch....): it did not provoke any surviving answer, and possibly was never sent.<br><br> | ||
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| - | SvD, April 2007 | + | SvD, September 2007<br><br> |
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| + | <br> | ||
| + | *Note that informations contained in the database ''WomenWriters'' have been derived from contemporary sources, which may contain errors. Also important: when arriving in the database ''WomenWriters'', your status is: "not logged on", which means that you have only partial view. For complete view and participation in the project, take contact.<br><br> | ||
| + | <hr> | ||
| + | <br> | ||
| + | *Sources > Dutch sources > Egodocuments > Correspondence of Dutch novelists Betje Wolff and Aagje Deken <br><br> | ||
Revision as of 09:46, 12 September 2007
The Wolff and Deken correspondence
These two women, who often published their novels and other works together, are generally considered to be the only 18th-century women permitted entry to “official” Dutch literary historiography. Elisabeth Wolff-Bekker (1738-1804) and Agatha Deken (1741-1804) are said to have inaugurated the history of the Dutch novel by publishing in 1782 their epistolary novel De historie van Sara Burgerhart.
Both ladies, living together after the death of husband Rev. Wolff, found themselves the center of an important network of friends – literary and other – with whom letters were exchanged. P.J. Buijnsters, who also wrote their biography, published this correspondence in 1987. Much, of course, has been lost: Buijnsters suggests that the two women destroyed letters at different phases of their life (Buijnsters, 49). For that reason possibly, the 253 letters do not really illustrate the supposed, and much discussed, preference for other women. Letters were sent to or by 63 different correspondents. Two thirds of the correspondence consists of letters to or from someone for whom no more than this only letter has been found.
The presence of colleagues-authors as correspondents is limited, male as well as female (Buijnsters, 50). In the whole of the correspondence we found seventeen women writers (cf. discussed or mentioned). They concern twelve women, five of them compatriots. Relations with them were of varying nature: Van Merken was admired; Epinay translated by Wolff, but not mentioned more than once; but to Genlis - also translated ánd admired - Wolff even wrote a letter (in Dutch....): it did not provoke any surviving answer, and possibly was never sent.
Bibliography:
- P.J. Buynsters (ed.), Briefwisseling van Betje Wolff en Aagje Deken. Utrecht, HES, 1987, 2 vols.
SvD, September 2007
- Note that informations contained in the database WomenWriters have been derived from contemporary sources, which may contain errors. Also important: when arriving in the database WomenWriters, your status is: "not logged on", which means that you have only partial view. For complete view and participation in the project, take contact.
- Sources > Dutch sources > Egodocuments > Correspondence of Dutch novelists Betje Wolff and Aagje Deken