Jacob Van Lennep

Lennep, Jacob Van 

Born Mar. 24, 1802, in Amsterdam; died Aug. 25, 1868, in Oosterbeek. Dutch writer. Son of the philologist D. J. van Lennep.

Lennep was a lawyer. In 1833 he published the historical novel The Adopted Son, which was written in the spirit of W. Scott. Other historical novels of Lennep were also imitative, including The Rose of Dekama (1836; Russian translation, 1841); Ferdinand Huyck (1840), about a Dutch adventurer of the 18th century; and Elizabeth Musch (1850–51), on the life of the 17th-century statesman J. De Witt. Lennep’s capacity for realistic observation is apparent in the novel The Adventures of Klaasje Zevenster (1866), which is about the fate of a foundling girl; in this novel the author uses the techniques of the picaresque novel. Lennep also wrote short stories and plays. He is the author of the philological investigation The Seaman’s Dictionary (1856).

WORKS

Romantische werken, vols. 1–23. Rotterdam, 1856–72.

REFERENCES

Busken-Huet, K. Litterarische fantasien en kritieken, vols. 1–25. Haarlem [1876–88].
Lennep, M. F. van. Het leven van Mr. Jacob van Lennep, vols. 1–2. Amsterdam, 1909. (Includes a bibliography.)