Baantjer, A.C. 1923- (Albert Cornelis Baantjer)
Baantjer, A.C. 1923- (Albert Cornelis Baantjer)
PERSONAL:
Born September 16, 1923, in Urk, Flevoland, Holland; son of Albert (a boat captain) and Aaltje (a homemaker) Baantjer; married Marretje van der Vaart (a homemaker), March 12, 1952. Education: Attended Ulo College, 1937-39; attended police school, 1945. Religion: Lutheran. Hobbies and other interests: Miniature trains and railways.
ADDRESSES:
Office—21 Korenmolen, Duivendrecht 1118 GN, Holland. Agent—12 Jan Toebacklaan, Bussum 1401 CW, Holland.
CAREER:
Worked as a clerk, 1939-43; Amsterdam Police Force, Amsterdam, Holland, police officer, 1945-54, detective, 1955-83; writer.
MEMBER:
Dutch Association of Mystery Writers.
AWARDS, HONORS:
Winner of Het Parool short story competition, 1961; Silver Medal of Royal Order of Oranje Nassau, 1979, for meritorious police work; Televizier award for most popular writer, 1985; inaugural Master Prize, from the Society of Dutch-language Crime Writers; knighted by the Dutch monarchy, for lifetime achievement.
WRITINGS:
"INSPECTOR DE COCK" DETECTIVE NOVELS
De Cock en het sombere naakt, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1964, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Somber Nude, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1992, Speck Press (Denver, CO), 2007.
De Cock en de wurger op zondag, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1965, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Sunday Strangler, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en het lijk in de kerstnacht, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1965, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Corpse on Christmas Eve, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en de dode harlekijn, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1968, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Dead Harlequin, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en de treurende kater, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1969, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Sorrowing Tomcat, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en de ontgoochelde dode, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1970, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Disillusioned Corpse, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en de zorgvuldige moordenaar, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1971, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Careful Killer, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en de romance in moord, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1972, translated as DeKok and the Romantic Murder, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en de stervende wandelaar, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1972, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Dying Stroller, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en het lijk aan de kerkmuur, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1973, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Corpse on the Church Wall, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en de dansende dood, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1974, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as De-Kok and the Dancing Death, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en de naakte juffer, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1978, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and the Naked Lady, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993.
De Cock en de broeders van de zachte dood, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1979, published as DeKok and the Brothers of the Easy Death, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1995.
De Cock en het dodelijk akkoord, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1980, published as DeKok and the Deadly Accord, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1996.
De Cock en moord in Séance, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1981, published as DeKok and the Murder in Seance, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1996.
De Cock en moord in extase, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1982, published as DeKok and the Murder in Ecstasy, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1998.
De Cock en de smekende dood, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1982, published as DeKok and the Begging Death, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1999.
De Cock en de ganzen van de dood, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1983, published as DeKok and the Geese of Death, Speck Press (Denver, CO), 2004.
De Cock en moord op melodie, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1983, published as DeKok and the Murder by Melody, Speck Press (Denver, CO), 2005.
De Cock en de dood van een clown De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1984, published as DeKok and the Death of a Clown, Speck Press (Denver, CO), 2005.
De Cock en een variant op moord, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1984, published as DeKok and the Variations on Murder, Speck Press (Denver, CO), 2006.
De Cock en moord op termijn, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1985, published as DeKok and the Murder by Installments, Speck Press (Denver, CO), 2006.
De Cock en moord op de Bloedberg, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1985, published as DeKok and the Murder on Blood Mountain, Speck Press (Denver, CO), 2007.
De Cock en de dode minnaars (title means "DeKok and the Dead Lovers"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1986.
De Cock en het masker van de dood (title means "DeKok and the Mask of Death"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1987.
De Cock en het lijk op retour (title means "DeKok and the Corpse by Return"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1987.
De Cock en moord in brons (title means "DeKok and Murder in Bronze"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1988.
De Cock en de dodelijke dreiging (title means "DeKok and the Deadly Warning"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1988.
De Cock en moord eerste klasse (title means "DeKok and Murder First Class"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1989.
De Cock en de bloedwraak (title means "DeKok and the Vendetta"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1989.
De Cock en moord a la carte, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1990, translated by H.G. Smittenaar as DeKok and Murder on the Menu, Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1992.
De Cock en een moord in beeld (title means "DeKok and Murder Depicted"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1990.
De Cock en dans macabre (title means "DeKok and Dance Macabre"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1991.
De Cock en de onluisterende dood (title means "DeKok and the Disfiguring Death"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1991.
De Cock en een duivels complot (title means "DeKok and the Devil's Conspiracy"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1992.
De Cock en het duel in de nacht (title means "Dekok and the Duel at Night"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1992.
De Cock en kogels voor een bruid (title means "DeKok and Bullets for the Bride"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1993.
De Cock en de dood van een profeet (title means "DeKok and the Death of a Prophet"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1993.
De Cock en de dode meesters (title means "DeKok and the Dead Masters"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1993.
Murder in Amsterdam (contains DeKok and the Sunday Strangler and DeKok and the Corpse on Christmas Eve), Intercontinental (Fairfax Station, VA), 1993, reprinted, Intrigue Press (Philadelphia, PA), 2002.
De Cock en Kogch voor een brunid, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1993.
OTHER DETECTIVE NOVELS
Het mysterie van de doodshoofden (title means "The Mystery of the Skulls"), Amsterdam Boek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1963.
De dertien katten (title means "The Thirteen Cats"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1963.
Een strop voor Bobbie (title means "A Loss for Bobbie"), Arbeiderspers/De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1964, De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1978.
Doden spreken niet (title means "Dead Men Tell No Tales"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1966, expanded version, 1981.
De moord op Anna Bentveld (title means "The Murder of Anna Bentveld"), Arbeiderspers/De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1967.
Het moraal van het cliche (title means "The Moral of the Cliché"), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1981.
Moord en doodslag in het Warmoesstraat (title means "Murder and Mayhem in Warmoes Street"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1982.
De zotte Warmoesstraat (title means "That Crazy Warmoes Street"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1984.
De misdaadmachine van de Warmoesstraat (title means "The Crime Machine of Warmoes Street"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1985.
De magische zeven (title means "The Magic Seven"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1986.
Het achtste wonder (title means "The Eighth Wonder"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1987.
OTHER
Vijf maal acht grijpt in (stories; title means "9-1-1 Responds"), Wereldbibliotheek, 1959.
Leerboekje recherche (teaching manual; title means "Plain Clothes Police Manual"), De Ruiter, 1977.
Baantjer vertelt 1 (collected columns; title means "Baantjer Talks: Volume 1"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1978.
Baantjer vertelt 2 (collected columns; title means "Baantjer Talks: Volume 2"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1979.
Baantjer vertelt 3 (collected columns; title means "Baantjer Talks: Volume 3"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1980.
Misdaad in het verleden (nonfiction; title means "Crimes of the Past"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1982.
Script voor "Moord in extase" (screenplay; adapted from Baantjer's novel; produced by Heuk Bos, 1984), De Fontein (Baarn, Holland), 1984.
Ik heb mijn man vermoord (story; title means "I Killed My Husband"), Athos, 1986.
Negen heit de klok (collected columns; title means "Nine o'Clock and All Is Well"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1988.
Een tien met een griffel (collected columns; title means "Whipped Cream and a Cherry on Top"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1988.
Het malle elfje (collected columns; title means "The Silly Little Elf"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1989.
Een, twee, hopla (collected columns; title means "One, Two, Skiddoo"), Teleboek (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1991.
Mensen met een Verhaal: Prominente nederlanders over de Bijbel, NBG (Heerenveen, Holland), 2004.
Columnist for Het Nieuws van de Dag.
ADAPTATIONS:
De Cock en het dodelijk akkoord was adapted for the stage by John Bakkenhoven; De Cock en moord in extase was adapted as a film; a series of television programs based on characters from Baantjer's books, Baantjer, was broadcast in Holland, 1995-2005.
SIDELIGHTS:
A.C. Baantjer is a former police officer who has gained considerable success in his native Holland with his many writings, particularly his numerous mystery novels featuring crime-solving protagonist De Cock (known among English-language readers as DeKok). Baantjer began writing in the early 1950s, and he began publishing his work in the early 1960s. He has since concentrated on producing two novels every year. Baantjer has received a number of awards for his writing, including the inaugural Master Prize of the Society of Dutch-language Crime Writers, and was made a knight of the Dutch monarchy in honor of his lifetime achievements. Several of his works have been adapted for film and television, with his "Baantjer" series based on the De Cock novels appearing on Dutch television from 1995 to 2005.
Murder in Amsterdam, while not Baantjer's first book, was the first to be translated into English, introducing British and American readers to Inspector DeKok, a longtime member of the Amsterdam police force who has grown resigned to the fact that justice is not always perfectly served. The book combines two novellas, one of which finds DeKok tracking down the killer of a string of murdered prostitutes, while the second shows DeKok himself breaking the law in the name of upholding it. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly noted of Baantjer: "His knowledge of esoterica rivals that of [Sherlock] Holmes, but Baantjer wisely uses such trivia infrequently."
Additional DeKok novels have been translated for English-speaking audiences, including DeKok and the Corpse on the Church Wall, in which the corpse in question is discovered by tourists, carefully stretched out on the local church wall. The dead man turns out to be a wealthy eccentric who often spent time living on the streets in order to meet people and learn about human nature. While DeKok and his assistant start to sort through the dead man's belongings and his life, another corpse appears and is promptly identified as the same rich eccentric, furthering the mystery. A Publishers Weekly reviewer praised the book as "shrewd but never slickly perfect."
Baantjer once told CA: "I started writing fiction as a hobby in 1953. Until then, I had written many official police reports. Those reports frustrated me because I was only allowed to write exactly what I had seen and heard, never what I had felt while talking with criminals and victims. So I started writing stories based on my real-life experiences as a police officer.
"In writing a novel I always start in the same way: I let somebody find a corpse. And after that I make my main characters act in the same way as I would have done while on active duty. When I start writing I have no idea what is going to happen, who the murderer is, or what his motives are. The story develops while I am walking my dog. After our walk I put it down in writing. In this way it takes me about three months to write a novel.
"I cannot deny that I am successful, because almost four million copies of my books have been sold in Holland. But I am not used to the success. It still amazes me, because I do not feel that my writing is exceptional. Sometimes I feel that people like to read my books because DeKok is just a ‘normal’ man, not a man with extraordinary brains, gifts, or habits, and certainly not a hero."
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, November 23, 1992, review of Murder in Amsterdam, p. 57; November 15, 1993, review of DeKok and the Corpse on the Church Wall, p. 75.
ONLINE
A.C. Baantjer Home Page,http://www.baantjer.org (November 19, 2007).