Louwrens Penning

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Louwrens Penning (born December 2, 1854 in Waardhuizen, municipality of Woudrichem , † January 12, 1927 in Utrecht ) was a Dutch author and journalist who was best known for his works on the Second Boer War in South Africa .

life and work

Penning grew up as the son of Frans Michels Penning (born April 23, 1818 - June 19, 1869) and Hendrika van der Beek. His father was initially a farm worker in the Rheiderland , but studied theology from 1845 to 1851 and from 1851 to 1861 was pastor of an old reformed community in Waardhuizen in North Brabant. After a year in Landsmeer , Frans Michels Penning accepted the call of the old reformed congregation Bunde in East Friesland on April 27, 1862 , where he became the first pastor of the congregation founded in 1858, which he served until his death in 1869. After the father's death, the family moved back to North Brabant, where Louwrens attended a private school in Nieuwendijk for a few years. Louwrens then had to provide for the family's livelihood as the oldest of five children. His mother borrowed money and opened a grocery store in Dussen . From there, Louwrens delivered the goods in his dog cart directly to the customers in a wide area. When the financial situation eased, he settled in Weener at the beginning of 1877 , where he took over the bookkeeping of a timber merchant, his father's friend. Louwrens Penning, meanwhile, felt called to be a pastor and began studying on the side, which his doctor advised against for health reasons.

After the death of his employer in 1880, Penning returned to his parents' home in Gorinchem . He became an office worker and later worked in the field service of a grain dealer. During the trips on the steamboat, he wrote the international reports for the local anti-revolutionary weekly De Drie Provinciën . In addition to journalistic articles he wrote in the features section on regional history Gorinchem. On May 20, 1891, he married Adriana Jenneke Machelina Heijmans. The marriage resulted in two sons and a daughter, and another daughter died young.

Like many Dutch people of his time, he felt connected to the Boers in South Africa, where two of his three brothers had lived since the mid-1880s. His wish to emigrate could not be realized in view of the family situation. In 1896 he began a feature section on the Great Trek from the Cape Colony to the South African Republic : De helden van Zuid-Afrika . Since no publisher showed interest, he financed the publication himself for a while.

The breakthrough came with the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899. The publishing house JN Voorhoeve asked him for the series of stories with a contemporary reference. In addition, he should write in the old reformed weekly Timotheüs . Penning was best known for his series Louis Wessels , which dealt with the Boer War and combined facts with fiction: De leeuw van Modderspruit (1900), De held van Spionkop (1901), De Verhenner van Christiaan de Wet (1902), De overwinnaar van Nooitgedacht (1903) and De kolonist van Zuid-West-Afrika (1904). The series enjoyed great success and was printed in 30 editions and translated into German and Afrikaans .

In 1903 Penning moved to Zeist and reduced his work in the grain trade. From 1906 Penning devoted himself entirely to writing and journalism. In 1909 he became director of the newly founded Arnheimer Zeitung, which resulted in a move to Arnhem . Ten years later he moved to Utrecht, where he worked for De Stichtsche Courant . His books dealt not only with South Africa, but also with figures from European history such as Johannes Calvin , die Geusen , Michiel de Ruyter , Gustav II Adolf of Sweden and many others. In total, Penning published around 75 titles, around 20 of which are set in southern Africa. As a devout Christian, Penning represented the Orthodox-Protestant view of history of his time. The central idea in his works is that God guides history, expects faith from people and gives salvation in need.

Works (selection)

  • The lion of Modderspruit . F. Zillessen, Berlin 1900.
  • The hero of Spionkop. Story from the Boeren War . F. Zillessen, Berlin 1901.
  • The winner of Nooitgedacht. F. Zillessen, Berlin 1903.
  • Gerrit Jan Beuker (Ed.): Faithful witnesses. A life story from the period between 1860 and 1880. Sollermann, Leer 1998, ISBN 3-928612-42-5 (translation by Uit mijn leven. Ed. By FM Penning).

literature

  • FM Penning: L. Penning. In: L. Penning: De leeuw van Modderspruit. 7th edition. Zwolle 1927, pp. 5-12.
  • PJ Risseeuw: L. Penning (1854-1927). In: Christelijke schrijvers van dezen tijd. Kampen 1930, pp. 122-128.

Web links

  • H. Jongsma: Louwrens Penning . In: Biographical Woordenboek van Nederland. Vol. 4. The Hague 1994, pp. 382-384 (Dutch).
  • AJ Lever: Louwrens Penning . In: Biographical Woordenboek Gelderland. Vol. 3. Hilversum 2002, pp. 116-118 (Dutch).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Church council of the EAK Bunde (ed.): Chronicle of the Evangelical-Old Reformed Congregation Bunde 1858–2008 . H. Risius-Verlag, Weener 2008, p. 108-112 .
  2. a b A.J. Lever: Louwren's penning . In: Biographical Woordenboek Gelderland. Vol. 3. Hilversum 2002, pp. 116-118.
  3. a b c d www.historici.nl: Louwrens Penning (Dutch), accessed February 16, 2012.