author
Johan Fabricius
1899–1981
Adventure, travel, and a gift for lively storytelling run through the work of this Dutch writer, whose books for adults and younger readers were shaped by a restless, curious life. Best known to many for De scheepsjongens van Bontekoe, he brought faraway places and historical settings vividly to life.
2 Audiobooks
De Scheepsjongens van Bontekoe
by Johan Fabricius
Hans de Klokkeluider : of de Duivel in den toren
by Johan Fabricius
About the author
Born in Bandung in the Dutch East Indies in 1899, Johan Fabricius grew up in an artistic family and went on to become a writer, journalist, and traveler. He also trained as a painter, and that visual eye shows in the colorful, scene-rich way his stories unfold.
Fabricius wrote widely across genres, including adventure novels, historical fiction, plays, and books for younger readers. One of his best-known works is De scheepsjongens van Bontekoe (1924), a popular historical adventure that remained widely read for decades. Some of his work also appeared in English under the name Johan Wigmore Fabricius.
His life was marked by movement and firsthand experience, and that sense of curiosity gave his writing much of its energy. He died in Glimmen, the Netherlands, in 1981, leaving behind a large body of work remembered for its storytelling pace, sense of place, and spirit of adventure.