Author: Louis Couperus
Louis Marie Anne (Louis) Couperus (The Hague, June 10,
1863 – De Steeg, July 16, 1923) was a Dutch novelist
and poet of the late 19th and early 20th Century. He is usually
considered to be one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature.
Louis Couperus was born in The Hague, the Netherlands
in 1863, as the 11th child of John Ricus Couperus, retired
Councellor of the former Dutch East Indies and his maid Catharina
Geertruida Reynst. In 1891 he married his niece Elisabeth
Baud. Her grandmother and his father were brother and sister.
Shortly after their marriage the couple started to travel
a great deal, all over the world. In France he stayed for
a time in Nice, working as a writer. The first World War forced
Couperus to go to the Netherlands. In 1923 Louis Couperus
settled near Rheden, in a house given to him by friends and
admirers. He died there in July 1923 at age 60 suffering from
prophylaxis of the lung and Sepsis. Shortly before he was
appointed Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion.
Louis Couperus
1863 - 1923
