Louis Couperus
1863–1923
Biography
Louis Couperus was a Dutch novelist and poet who lived from 1863 to 1923. He was born in The Hague and is widely regarded as a leading name in Dutch letters. He worked in verse, in novels of several kinds, and in shorter forms that ranged from fairy tales to travel sketches. He and his wife made long journeys through Europe and Asia, and the travel writing that came out of them ran as a weekly series.
Couperus is best known for his psychological novels about the upper classes of the Netherlands. Eline Vere, whose subtitle calls it a novel of The Hague, follows a young woman whose boredom and restless longings in fashionable society shape the choices she makes. He also wrote historical fiction. De komedianten is set in Rome under the emperor Domitian and follows a troupe of comic actors who perform in taverns, great houses and theatres.
Eline Vere and De komedianten are both on this site, and they show how far apart his subjects could be. One is a close study of the social life of The Hague, and the other is a crowded picture of ancient Rome. Couperus wrote about both with care, and the range of the two books helps explain why he remains central to Dutch literature.
This biography was written by a language model. The sources below are where to check it; treat details with care.
Books
De komedianten
by Louis Couperus
Rome under the emperor Domitian: in the rain-soaked Suburra, the twin brothers Cecilius and Cecilianus belong to a troupe of comic actors who play in taverns, rich men's houses and theatres. Couperus follows the company through a teeming city of patrons, poets such as Martial…
Summary written by Claude Opus 5.5.Eline Vere: Een Haagsche roman
by Louis Couperus
Eline Vere, young, beautiful and well off, lives with her married sister in The Hague and drifts through a round of dinners, soirees and amateur theatricals. Restless and easily moved, she cannot settle on a life or a love, and Couperus follows her moods against a crowded…
Summary written by Claude Opus 5.5.