Maarten Maartens: Rediscovered: The Most Popular Dutch Author Abroad

Maarten Maartens (1858-1915), the pseudonym of Dutch author Jozua Marius Willem van der Poorten Schwartz, who wrote in English, received honorary degrees for his work from Aberdeen University in 1905 and Western Pennsylvania University--now Pitt University--in 1907. President Theodore Roosevelt received him and his daughter Ada at the White House for a private discussion. William Sharp, a 19th-century British poet, critic and novelist, and a contemporary of Maarten Maartens, writes in 1896, "There are few authors of the day more widely popular with the English-reading public all over the world than the now celebrated Anglo-Dutch romancist, Maarten Maartens. It is interesting to note that the testimony of many of the leading librarians, both in America and Great-Britain, is to the effect that few if any novels are in such steady demand throughout the year as those of the able writer just named..." In this book John Schwartz summarizes Maarten Maarten's 13 novels, published between 1889 and 1912, on the occasion of his passing one hundred years ago. The summaries use much of Maartens' own writing to give the flavor of his style, his humor, and insightful characterizations. Close to 2 million words are deftly distilled into 164,000. Even today, Maarten Maartens remains a good read.