The Paleis Hotel of Louis Couperus

This writer felt at home in the cozy house of his sister

Writer Louis Marie Anne Couperus (1863–1923) felt completely at home on Molenstraat, in his sister’s house. In what is now the Paleis Hotel, you can still sense a touch of the Hague Belle Époque, the era of prosperity and calm at the end of the nineteenth century. Fine arts and literature flourished. Couperus was a well-dressed dandy and a dedicated worker. He loved to stroll through the streets of the Hofkwartier, elegantly dressed with hat and cane. He saw himself as a cosmopolitan, yet he was deeply rooted in his birthplace, The Hague. Though he was a man full of seeming contradictions, his vast body of work is remarkably unified: a compelling role for fate, introspective characters, and a consistently maintained personal writing style.

Refuge

The Hague’s Belle Époque was known for its social rituals and refined lifestyle. Although Couperus lived on Surinamestraat, he always felt at home in the lively household of his thirteen-years-older sister Toos and her husband Ben. The large house on Molenstraat was his sanctuary. Among nine children and many servants, he could completely be himself. More than just a second home, it was a place where he found love, friendship, and inspiration for dozens of his literary works, including novels and poetry.

In the 31 years that Couperus was active, he produced around 50 titles. In addition to novels, he wrote short stories, travel reports, newspaper serials, and fairy tales. He was also an avid traveler. Italy and the South of France were favorite destinations, and he journeyed to Asia and Africa as a journalist.

Starring: The Hague

The most important novels by Couperus are set in The Hague. Besides Eline Vere, The Books of the Small Souls (1901–1903) and Old People and the Things That Pass… (1906) are the best-known examples. In these works, the author presents us with a world of faded glory. The Hague was the city where retired civil servants from the Dutch East Indies withdrew and had to come to terms with the fact that their social role was all but over.


The Books of the Small Souls is a hefty four-part novel cycle. Couperus shows how the prestige of the wealthy Van der Lowe family slowly crumbles. In the gripping Old People, a murder committed in the Indies takes center stage. This murder was never solved and continues to hang over the events and characters in The Hague like a dark cloud.  
The mysterious The Hidden Force (1900) is set entirely in the Indies. Couperus based the novel on his own childhood memories of the Dutch East Indies.