In 1918, a book entitled « Mietje van der Dussen », written by L.E. Lite Engelberts (1880-1929), was published in Utrecht by G.J.A. RUYS. Born in Gelderland, she had written several historical novels set in the Netherlands in the 18th century, which were quite successful at the time. She based her works on historical facts and family archives, to which she had access through her connections. Her works were considered to be well documented.
We discovered this book by chance on the Internet. You will find an excerpt of the book below The book itself is of course out of print, but can still be found in antique shops. The copy in our possession belonged to Anna Maria Catharina van der Dussen (!) « geboren : 29 maart 1883 ». She was therefore a contemporary of Lite Engelberts. This Anna Maria Catharina is not mentioned in the VDD genealogy, either because she did not belong to this family or because her parentage has been lost. If her descendants are reading this article, please contact us.
Mietje appears in branch E of the genealogy, in position XIV 5. Her full name is Maria Louisa Adriana. She was the daughter of Jan Lucas van der Dussen, Count of the Dykes, who died in the fire that burnt down the Amsterdam theatre. She was the granddaughter of Bruno, the plenipotentiary of the United Provinces at the negotiations with France on the Treaty of Utrechet in 1713. She had lost her parents when she was young, and the book tells the story of her life as an older sister, first looking after the rest of the family, then moving to the countryside in Gelderland, and the social relationships and family events that followed. A bittersweet, bucolic family chronicle, telling the war and French occupation of the late eighteenth century.
The illustration above represents the castel « Ulenpas », where stayed Mietje, invited by her sister Clara.
