Adrianus Michael De Jong

Born Mar. 28, 1888, in Niewe-Vossmeer; died Oct. 18, 1943, in Blaricum. Dutch writer.

The son of a worker, Jong earned his living as a teacher. He first appeared in print in 1916. From 1919 to 1925 he edited the newspaper Net volk, the organ of the Social Democratic Workers’ Party of the Netherlands, and in 1927–28, he was one of the editors of the journal Nu. A participant in the Resistance Movement, he was shot by the SS.

In his two cycles of novels The Youth of Merijntje Gijzen (parts 1–4, 1925–28) and The Early Manhood of Merijntje Gijzen (parts 1–4, 1935–38), Jong criticized bourgeois society from the standpoint of abstract humanism. He wrote books for children and memoirs, notably The Glorious Years of Frank van Wezel (1928). In 1942–43, Jong wrote a biographical novel about G. A. Bredero, Reckless Ensign, published in 1947.