author
L. (Louwrens) Penning
1854–1927
A popular Dutch storyteller of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, remembered especially for vivid adventure novels about the Boer wars in South Africa. His books mixed patriotism, action, and strong Protestant themes, which helped make him widely read in the Netherlands.
4 Audiobooks
De Scherpschutters van Zuid-Afrika: Een Verhaal uit den Vrijheidsoorlog 1880-81
by L. (Louwrens) Penning
De ruiters van Zuid-Afrika een verhaal uit de dagen van Jameson en Krugersdorp 1895-96
by L. (Louwrens) Penning
De Leeuw van Modderspruit Een verhaal uit den Engelsch-Zuid-Afrikaanschen Oorlog 1899-1900
by L. (Louwrens) Penning
About the author
Born in Waardhuizen on December 2, 1854, and died in Utrecht on January 12, 1927, Louwrens Penning was a Dutch novelist and journalist. Reliable biographical sources agree that he became especially well known for fiction about South Africa, particularly stories connected with the Boer struggle.
Penning wrote in an accessible, dramatic style that appealed to a broad readership. Reference works describe him as a popular author whose novels often romanticized the Boer cause; notably, he wrote many of these South Africa-themed books before ever traveling there.
Besides his fiction, he also worked as a journalist and published other historical and religious writing, including work on John Calvin. His reputation today rests mainly on the strong place his adventure-filled, Protestant-leaning historical novels once held in Dutch popular reading culture.