Helene Nolthenius

February 5, 2012 2:34 PM

Two years before The Name of the Rose, Dutch academic Helene Nolthenius published the first of three detective novels featuring the medieval Tuscan cleric Lapo Mosca. She died in 2000. Her own story is sadly affecting. (Via the Dartmouth History blog.

The novels have been translated into Spanish, Italian, and German only and are not so easy to track down. Her scholarly work in English, is easier. Her biography was published in 2009, Dutch language only, alas for most of us.

posted by IndigoJones (5 comments total)

You're right, that was sad. It would have been good to be able to read one of her fictions. Or, it would be good to know Italian or German.
posted by tumid dahlia at 3:11 PM on February 5

I got her biography as a Christmas present last year but I confess that I still haven't read it.
posted by atrazine at 3:32 PM on February 5

The blog link at Her own story is sadly affecting is well-written and very interesting. Thanks for posting!
posted by KokuRyu at 5:08 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the thoughtful post--and not a single cynical. sarcastic or snarky response. An affecting tale of a troubled time and life.
posted by rmhsinc at 12:52 AM on February 6

Interesting. I hadn't heard of her before but her books sound right up my ally and I see the Amsterdam library has quite a lot of them.
posted by MartinWisse at 1:43 AM on February 6