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.

Tonke Dragt first published stories in the magazine Kris Kras, and her first book appeared in 1961. She came to the Netherlands with her family after the war. She spent the largest part of her youth there, including three years in a Japanese prisoner's camp during the Second World War between 19. There is also a follow-up story titled Geheimen van het Wilde Woud.Her book De brief voor de Koning was chosen as the best Dutch youth book of the latter half of the twentieth century. The following video explains more.īecause it is a book for a younger audience, it is ideal for Dutch learners and aficionados! If you’d rather read it in your own language, there is bound to be a translation available. However, he had made a promise to the Black Night with the White Shield and thus he continues his journey.įortunately for all of us who loved this book, Netflix has announced that they will produce a new series based on the book. At times, Tiuri is ready to give up he doesn’t even know the contents of the letter.

He also does not close himself off to help from others and enjoys the kindness and friendship of all those people he meets along the way.

He learns to trust his instinct when meeting people even when others tell him not to. Tiuri’s journey shows readers internal conflicts we can all associate with. Throughout his journey, Tiuri must defend himself from the Red Riders whose mission is to stop him from delivering the letter. The journey takes Tiuri across mountains and forests in the hopes of delivering an important letter. Tiuri breaks the rules of keeping vigil the night before the ceremony after he hears a mysterious voice call for help. About the bookĭe brief voor the koning tells the story of Tiuri, a young boy from the kingdom of Dagonaut who in the eve of becoming a knight, leaves it all to deliver a very important letter to the King of Unauwen. It is a fantastic coming-of-age story that appeals both to children and adults alike. In 1962, Dragt published De brief voor de koning winning the Gouden Griffel award for best youth book of the year. In 1961, Dragt published her first book Verhalen van de tweelingbroers which earned her a lot of praise as a children’s book writer. After moving to Den Haag, Dragt studied in the academie voor beeldende kunsten (academy for visual arts). She was a prisoner in a Japanse camp during the war and it was there that she wrote her first book with borrowed paper. Tonke Dragt or Antonia Johanna Willemina Dragt is a Dutch writer who was born in Jakarta (back then the Dutch East Indies). Photo taken by Josué Goge found on with license CC BY 2.0

De brief voor de koning by Tonke Dragt