De kleine Johannes 1/3 - Eeden, Frederik van 1860-1932; Veth, Jan (The Hague Mouton, 1887)
The first volume was written and published in 1887, which is where Frederik van Eeden made his fame as a writer. Volume 2 appeared in 1905. Volume 3 in 1906.
The story centres on the development from child to adult and the struggle with life's riddles. The story is not just a fairy tale. It involves the following elements: the stages of human life; contrasts (good/evil, idealism/materialism); the diminutive motif; criticism of human society; the search for happiness; positivism and pantheism.
Together with Godfried Bomans' Erik or the little insect book, it was on the literature list of secondary schools in Belgium for many years. In the Netherlands, too, it is a widely read book that can be found on the reading lists of many secondary school teachers and schools.
Ex libris L R Weber (manuscript)
Keywords: 19th Century (1801-1900); Biography; Novel; Fairy tale