One of the advantages is that the orphanage would subsidise the boy till he was eighteen (he is about to turn sixteen at the start of the novel). However, he encouraged a neighbouring couple, who did not have any children, to adopt a boy, Theo, from a local orphanage. He is somewhat embittered in that his competitor gets the jobs for the orchestra players while he only gets the jobs for amateurs. (Wittily enough, Vedder is an old Dutch word meaning cousin). Christof and Martha do not have children but Martha, in particular, takes an interest in the children of the peat settlement.Ĭhristof has a cousin in Amsterdam, called Walter Vedder. While it was not required when Christof became a pharmacist, he still feels that people are more likely to use the services of a man with a qualification.

When Christof meets Halink, he is very concerned that the new man has a formal qualification. He was eventually replaced by a young man, Halink.

Meanwhile, the other pharmacist also died. When the pharmacist died, Christof took over and has been successful but has not been accepted by the town’s elite, to Martha’s disappointment. One moved away, and Christof married the other, Martha. Unfortunately, she does not get pregnant and Sieger and his friends mock the family and the relationship is ended.Ĭhristof Anijs was the assistant to one of the pharmacists in the town. This allows him to determine whether she is fertile before marriage. In accordance wtih custom, he comes into her bedroom at night. Pet’s daughter, Johanna is courted by another poor man, Sieger. Though there is a doctor in Hoogeveen for the poor, he is fairly ineffective but, fortunately, the local pharmacist, Christof Anijs, is very helpful. There are, of course, other poor peat diggers there. They decide to move and find out that there is a peat bog just outside Hoogeveen, where they can build a shack on free land and dig up peat, so they move there. However, this is becoming increasingly difficult, much harder work and with little reward. They have been making their living by dredging for peat.

We start with a Jewish family, the Bennemins, headed by Pet Bennemin. It is set in the late nineteenth century, primarily in the Dutch towns of Amsterdam and Hoogeveen. This is certainly the case with this book. Thomas Rosenboom’s general modus operandi is historical fiction with characters caught up in something beyond their control. Home » Netherlands » Thomas Rosenboom » Publieke werken Thomas Rosenboom: Publieke werken

Publieke werken by Thomas Rosenboom