De brief voor de Koning
Encyclopedia
De brief voor de koning is a book by Tonke Dragt
. It was first published in 1962. The book has been published in Catalan, Danish, German, Greek, Estonian, French, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Czech. A sequel, Geheimen van het Wilde Woud, was published in 1965. De brief voor de koning was chosen as the best Dutch youth book of the latter half of the twentieth century.
The book The Letter for the King (Dutch: De brief voor de koning) has sold over 1 million copies so far. The book has been translated many times, and reached its 22nd printing in Dutch in 2007.
In 2007, it premiered as a musical theater piece. This was the second theater production based on the works of Tonke Dragt, after an adaptation of De Zevensprong.
The movie based on the book, starring Derek de Lint
was released in the summer of 2008. Tonke Dragt is now considered to be the greatest Dutch female writer for children.
Tonke Dragt
Antonia "Tonke" Johanna Dragt is a Dutch writer and illustrator of children's literature. Her book De brief voor de Koning was chosen as the best Dutch youth book of the latter half of the twentieth century.-Biography:...
. It was first published in 1962. The book has been published in Catalan, Danish, German, Greek, Estonian, French, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Czech. A sequel, Geheimen van het Wilde Woud, was published in 1965. De brief voor de koning was chosen as the best Dutch youth book of the latter half of the twentieth century.
Plot
De brief voor de koning is set in a fictional medieval world. In the story, a youth's adventure is externalized in a search for a letter, which results in a discovery of their own persona.Reception
Tonke Dragt became one of the best known Dutch youth authors in 1962 with De brief voor de koning ("The Letter for the King"), her second book, which won the Gold Pen award (Gouden Griffel) for the best Dutch youth book of the year. She continued to produce at a high rhythm during the 1960s, but massively reduced the output of new work in the next decades, although collections of older short stories filled up many of the gaps.The book The Letter for the King (Dutch: De brief voor de koning) has sold over 1 million copies so far. The book has been translated many times, and reached its 22nd printing in Dutch in 2007.
In 2007, it premiered as a musical theater piece. This was the second theater production based on the works of Tonke Dragt, after an adaptation of De Zevensprong.
The movie based on the book, starring Derek de Lint
Derek de Lint
Dick Hein de Lint is a Dutch film and television actor.De Lint was born in The Hague. In 1977, he played the character Alex in the film Soldier of Orange, directed by Paul Verhoeven. In 1986 he played the role of Anton Steenwijk in The Assault, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language...
was released in the summer of 2008. Tonke Dragt is now considered to be the greatest Dutch female writer for children.
Awards
- 1963: Kinderboek van het Jaar (Children's book of the Year, the predecessor of the Gouden GriffelGouden GriffelThe Gouden Griffel is an important award given to authors of children's or teenager's literature in the Netherlands.Since 1971, it is awarded each year during the Dutch Children's Books Week, by the Stichting Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlandse Boek for the best children's books written in...
) for De brief voor de koning - 2004: Griffel der Griffels for De brief voor de koning (award for the best Dutch children's book of the past fifty years)