Gendelettre:De vormende jaren van Frans Erens, 1857-1893

Frans Erens (1857-1935) is regarded as "the Eighties man from Limburg," who took his own place within the Eighties Movement based on his origins, Catholic faith and international education. In 1884 he joined Flanor, the Amsterdam association that is considered the birthplace of the Eighties. Earlier, in Paris, he actively participated in the rise of the Symbolists. Gendelettre attempts to answer the intriguing question of how Erens' success in both Paris and Amsterdam can be explained and looks for that answer in his self-fashioning and the factors that contributed to it. The study also paints a picture of the world of letters at a crucial moment in the literary history of both countries, France and the Netherlands. Previously unreprinted texts by the author enrich this first scholarly biography of Frans Erens. Jean Frins (b. 1982) was accompanied in his writing by professors Mary Kemperink (University of Groningen) and Kees Snoek (Sorbonne Université Paris)