Biography

Johan Wilhelm Henri van Wermeskerken (1882–1937) was a Dutch journalist and writer who enjoyed an excellent reputation in the Netherlands before the Second World War, but has largely been forgotten. Born in 1882 as the son of author Sophia Margaretha Cornelia Junius (who wrote under the pseudonym Johanna van Woude) and Johannes van Wermeskerken, Henri worked as a correspondent for De Telegraaf, the Haarlems Dagblad, the NRC and the Soerabajasch Dagblad, among others. He is best remembered for his novels and stage plays, which were often crowd-pleasers. They were generally cleverly put together, yet filled with comical situations often deemed cheap by critics. His collection of short stories 'Langs den gordel van smaragd', often considered his greatest work, is a notable exception to this rule; stories from the collection have been included in various anthologies. His 1917 play 'De Suikerfreule' (released as a novel in 1925) was adapted to film by Haro van Peski in 1935. After his death at the age of 57, Van Wermeskerken was buried in a mausoleum erected at Westerveld cemetary, which is considered a national heritage site of the Netherlands.

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