Elle van Rijn is a Dutch actress, screenwriter of series and films, and author of columns, although her greatest passion lies with writing novels.
"The Orphans of Amsterdam"
Amsterdam, 1941. My hands are so shaky I’m fumbling. Where to hide? I pull open the dresser, throw aside the blankets, put the baby in and push the drawer shut, just as the nursery door swings open. The German officer marches into the room, yelling over the crying downstairs: ‘You! Grab all the children – now!’
Based on the heart-wrenching true story of an ordinary young woman who risked everything to save countless children from the Nazis.
My name is Betty. Until a few months ago, I was just like every other nursery teacher in the city… then the Nazis came and began to take our children away. Now, the nursery is part of a German deportation centre. Little ones and their families are being forced across the border, to a place called Auschwitz. No one comes back.
So when I hear there’s an underground network to save the children, I know I have to help. Sometimes the parents won’t be parted from them, and sometimes we can’t get to them in time – there are spies everywhere. But each time I smuggle the warm, innocent bundle of a sleeping baby past the Nazi guards and into the arms of the resistance, I know it’s worth the risk.
Tonight, in the pitch black, we are readying five little ones to escape ahead of a transport tomorrow. We don’t know where they’re going, and they may never see their parents again. As I button their coats and smooth their hair, my hands trembling, I hear the nightmare sound of heavy army boots on the stairs. My breath catches and my blood runs cold…
A heartbreaking and gripping read that will have you reaching for the tissues. Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were the Lucky Ones and The Nightingale.
RELEASING TODAY, July 5th!!
Author Interview
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Well, I recently went on a literal pilgrimage with three writers to Sicily, to write a novel together. This experiment ended up being published a month ago and it’s a success! Wait until it gets translated in English.
Having said that, no journey has felt like an exhaustive pilgrimage to me because when I choose a topic, I can spend years diving into it, in libraries, archives, and talking to witnesses. The Orphans of Amsterdam of a group of young Jewish nurses in the second world war that saved about 600 kids from deportation to the concentration camps. The research for this book got me more and more involved every day. I’m still in contact with many kids that survived because of these brave women.
Tell us the best writing tip you can think of, something that helps you.
Try to be your protagonist as if you were an actor that transforms into such a character. Approach him/her as if it’s a role you have to play in a movie. Think, move, see, and feel as this person.
What are common traps for aspiring writers? Advice for young writers starting out.
Try not to be literary. Invest in the story itself, in its characters and don’t be preoccupied with the outcome. Which means to not think too much about shaping your sentences beautifully: Dare to fail and to write what might initially seem ugly. Try not to imitate others, but seek your own style, while telling the story by feeling as your characters.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Say no to projects that are just about money. You can only succeed as an artist and a writer if you pursue what really interests you. Believe in yourself and keep that fire burning, inside of you.
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
I have a group of female writer friends with whom I hang out regularly. Besides the fun, it is also very valuable to have a safe place where to share your doubts, questions and insecurities. We know that each of us has those, at times.
Can you give us a quick review of a favourite book by one of your author friends?
Susan Smith wrote The Witch of Limbricht, a historical novel about a brave and wise woman that got accused of witchcraft. Susan manages to bring alive the story of her trial in 1674. The hunt for women that had their own opinion and dared to stand for themselves, and the way they were tortured until admitting to be witches, is a story we should never forget.
How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
I wrote my first novel purely out of intuition. In the later works, I dared to put in more plot, upfront. Still, when I start writing it’s always about a delicate balance about how much I want to know the plot up front. Although on a story based on real events like The Orphans of Amsterdam, I had to get immediately aligned to what had really happened.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
To travel to places where the events of your story really took place.
What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
I learned in my personal life many times that words have the power to explain, to connect, to heal. The old school way of writing letters has often been a way to connect and bound, while nowadays the fashion of writing short messages in an impulse, often leads to more anger and disconnection.
What’s the best way to market your books?
I am not 100% sure. Of course, it is proven that social media is very effective. Interviews on tv, radio and magazines are also very powerful ways to get your message across. In Holland I often give lectures and book signings to connect with my readers face to face, and I strongly believe that in the long term this is the best way to really get in touch with your audience. But it takes quite some time…
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
That depends on the book I write. For The Orphans of Amsterdam, I did research for about two years.
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
I strongly believe that fiction serves the goal of bringing history alive. So you can be in that time, in that arena, in the middle of that turbulence. You’ll never get the same catharsis through non-fiction.
What are the ethics of writing about historical figures?
That is a difficult one. I believe the novel should tell as much as possible the truth about history. That’s very important, and I feel a big responsibility towards correctly describing both the historical events, as well as the historical characters that I bring up. However this is also about interpreting, as everyone can have a completely different idea of a given character. For that reason, it is always important to say that these are novels. And they are based on my own interpretation, creativity and personal views.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I deal very well with the good ones! And I try to quickly forget about the bad ones. Luckily, I don’t get too many bad ones nowadays.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
When it comes to my historical novels the most difficult part is transforming real events and my research into fiction. In the beginning I always aim to stay very close to reality. But then the moment always comes that I have to give space to my creativity, so that a novel can be written out of what really happened. For example, in those true stories where way too many people or events are involved, I choose sometimes to combine characters into a narrative that does not need to rely on all of them.
Tell us about your novel/novels/or series and why you wrote about this topic?
The Orphans of Amsterdam is my tenth book. Besides novels I’ve written many tv- series, movies, columns and feuilletons. After studying acting in Holland and Vienna, I started my career as an actress. But I came to the conclusion that playing in a theatre, night after night, with the same lines, the same mise-en-scene, was not satisfying for me. I felt the urge to be creative in a more independent way, so I started writing. Now I consider myself more a writer than an actress. I generally write about ordinary people who get into extraordinary circumstances, in which they have to stand up for themselves and for their beloved ones.
What is your favourite line or passage from your own book?
Favourite to me, needs to sound beautiful. The following passage is not beautiful, yet it describes exactly the horrible choices these girls had to make. It was a sort of Sophie’s Choice, but taking place every day.
‘Which children do we choose to be put on the transport? Ten minutes, he said. They have to be ready in ten minutes. Without giving it another thought, I start waking the children, cheerily saying: ‘You can come along on the train after all!’ I choose children I don’t know. Children I don’t look in the eye when I tell them to go get their stuff and not to forget their teddy bear. I suppress the nauseous feeling in my stomach, the buzzing in my head, the tingling in my hands and proceed. When I get to a girl who’s wide awake in bed and tell her to get up, Sieny stops me. ‘No, not her!’ Do him ahead.’ She points to the boy sleeping beside her.’
What was your hardest scene to write?
Because of this tragic story there were many… But I could not stop crying when writing the scene in which Betty, the protagonist, gives a doll to a mother instead of her baby and asks her to act as if that light object was her child.
Tell us your favourite quote and how the quote tells us something about you.
‘If we don’t connect, we don’t live.’ I believe to live is all about connecting with one another. As a mother of four children and two step kids, I know that the best I can give to them is real attention. As I know that I can only connect with my husband and my friends if I’m genuinely interested. Storytelling is my way to connect with people on a large scale, and to share the tales we should never forget.
*****
Thank you, Elle, for the interview!
Dee Marley
HFC CEO