author
J. B. de (Jacob B.) Liefde
1847–1878
A Dutch-born writer and journalist who moved through war reporting into vivid historical fiction, he packed an unusually wide life into just 31 years. His novels often look back to the Netherlands of the 15th and 16th centuries, blending adventure with a strong sense of history.
1 Audiobook
Kerjäläissoturit: Historiallinen romaani
by J. B. de (Jacob B.) Liefde
About the author
Born in Holland in 1847, J. B. de Liefde was identified in later records as Jacob B. de Liefde. By his early twenties he was working as a war correspondent for the Daily News and traveled with the German army in 1870, before relocating to London and attending London University.
He went on to build a short but productive literary career. Sources describe him as a writer of historical fiction set especially in the 15th- and 16th-century Netherlands, and surviving bibliographic records connect him with books including The Beggars (Les Gueux), Walter's Escape: or, The Capture of Breda, Hereditary Bondsmen: or, Is It All in Vain?, The Maid of Stralsund, and the nonfiction work The Great Dutch Admirals.
De Liefde never married and died young in 1878. Although little else seems to be widely recorded about his life, his work reflects a clear interest in Dutch history, conflict, and national identity.