Biblio Library

Dr Adriaan is a novel by Dutch author Louis Couperus. Dr Adriaan is the fourth and last of four novels that make up the quartet known as 'The Books of the Small Souls', the master work of the foremost author of Dutch literature

The fourth and final book in Louis Couperus' Books of the Small Souls quartet. Ten years have passed since the conclusion of The Twilight of Souls. Constance and Henri van der Welcke have moved into the van der Welcke family home at Driebergen. Living with them in the dark and gloomy house are Mamma van Lowe, Constance's niece, Emilie, daughter-in-law, Mathilde, and her two young children, together with brother Gerrit's wife Adeline and their 'flaxen-haired tribe' of nine children. As the book opens, the household is keenly anticipating the return of Mathilde's new husband Addie, now Dr, Adriaan, who is kept busy not only by his practice but also by his responsibilities to his growing family.

Louis Marie-Anne Couperus (1863 – 1923) was a Dutch novelist and poet. His writings contains a wide variety of genres: lyric poetry, psychological and historical novels, novellas, short stories, fairy tales, feuilletons and sketches. Couperus is considered to be one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature. In 1923, he was awarded the Tollensprijs (Tollens Prize). Translation by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos. Audiobook read by Phil Benson, running time 9 hours, 26 min. Unabridged full version.