Dola de Jong – The Tree and the Vine 244 pages, 40.000 words, published in February 2017. Full English edition available. Part of the 10 Books from Holland Brochure by the Dutch Foundation for Literature. ‘Shameless, not fit for publishing’, was the blunt verdict of Alice van Nahuys, then publisher at Querido, about the novel The Tree and the Vine . Similarly, the publishing house Scribner’s in New York, where Dola de Jong’s earlier novel The Field had been a success for many years, reacted negatively. It is 1954. An outspoken novel such as The Tree and the Vine is too early for its time. However, fellow writer Marnix Gijsen called the book a masterpiece, and eventually it was published in the Netherlands as well as the United States, where it is still available today, a good sixty years after its original publication. The Tree and the Vine is a novel about love and friendship between two women. Erica and Bea share an apartment in Amsterdam, but they are completely different. Erica, a reckless young journalist, pursues passionate but abusive affairs with various women. While Bea, a reserved secretary, grows more and more attached to Erica. The novel is set just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Erica, who believes to be half Jewish, let’s the opportunity pass to flee to Amerika. Bea is increasingly worried for her friend. She finds that her feelings for her are growing stronger – yet denial and shame keep her from recognising her affection. After the publication of The Tree and the Vine , Alice van Nahuys sent a telegram to Dola de Jong with the message: ‘Don’t answer your fan mail!’, since there was too much of it. Any number of women recognized themselves in the novel, being stuck between a rock and a hard place in their own relationships. A review in Het Vaderland made clear: ‘Writing such a portrait is not possible for just anyone. You have to be blessed with a special talent.’ ‘Bea and Erica are wonderful, real-live characters. Bea’s clumsiness and Erica’s desperate reactions give meaning and direction to their relationship.. It is a touching and delicately written story of a women that can only conclude afterwards that she had let her chance to happiness pass by. Well done and still worth reading!’ – Jannie Trouwborst, De leesclub van alles ‘This compelling novel allows us entry into a world in which the word lesbian is unspeakable and to be a Jew is unspeakably dangerous.’ – Evelyn Torton Beck, editor of Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology ‘A masterful depiction of the love of two women, one of whom loves without understanding her own sensuality, while the other indulges in passions with little concept of love.’ – Johan P. Snapper, Professor of the University of California, Berkeley Dorothea Rosalie de Jong (Arnhem, 1911 – Laguna Woods/California 2003) wrote children’s books, novels, and short stories. She decided to flee the Netherlands in 1940 with the tension of war increasing. Together with her husband she reached Tangiers and successfully made the passage to America. She wrote The Field which was an instant success and received the Edgar Allen Poe Award for her thriller The Whirligig of Time (1964). Cossee Publishers, Kerkstraat 361, 1017 HW Amsterdam, the Netherlands | For more information, please contact Stella Rieck: [email protected] or visit www.cossee.com/foreignrights . | To support Dutch literature beyond our borders, translation grants can be obtained through The Dutch Foundation For Literature. Visit www.letterenfonds.nl/en/grants for more information. .