In the cemetery of Vienna stands a tall black tombstone with the names of a Jewish family. The German inscription reads: “Here lies Herr Jakob Stökel, born 15 May 1822, died 18 October 1897”. The Hebrew text is a little bit more extensive: “Here lies the honorable rabbi, our teacher, Jakov Stokel, son of Alexander….
Category: Women
Dealing with grief
It was a hot day for a funeral. The local cemetery was basking in sunlight. The family was sat inside, socially distanced, with the open coffin in front. A grandchild stood up to speak, “Goddamn it, grandma,” began the speech. I was not a part of this. It was not my family. I sat outside…
Mrs. Tsenhor
Sometimes in life, things happen at the right moment. When Koen Donker van Heel encouraged me to start my own business, I hadn’t read his new book Mrs. Tsenhor yet, which was published in 2014 by the always lovely AUC Press (hardcover, nice design, sparkling white pages). Now that I have, I am affirmed in…
The stubborn travels of Alexine Tinne
Alexandrine Tinne (1835-1869) was the daughter of a wealthy merchant in 19th century The Hague. Her father left her a fortune so vast that she could spend it at will on as lavish a lifestyle as she desired. But instead of wasting her inheritance on elaborate dinner parties and other pastimes of ‘Haguois’ high society,…
Agatha Christie in Egypt and the Near East
Agatha Christie is world-renowned for her crime writing. Her countless mystery stories are packed with locked rooms, cracked mirrors and unreliable clocks. Trains, boats and islands provide the closed systems in which one of the characters is inevitably the murderer. Card games, hunting parties and casual vacations provide the perfect backdrop for an intricate series…
Women explorers of Egypt
Yesterday was International Women’s Day. It strikes me as odd that half the world’s population gets only one specific day per year to demonstrate for equal rights. I suggest that for the next couple of thousand years, every single day is devoted to women’s rights. Then we might call it even. To focus on the…