Van Schendel is one of the most important prose writers of the first half of the twentieth century. He made his debut in 1896 with the tale Drogon, but owes his reputation primarily to his neo-romantic works Een zwerver verliefd (1904) and Een zwerver verdwaald (1907). He had much of his work published first in periodicals before it appeared in book form. The publication of his so-called Dutch novels Het fregatschip Johanna Maria (1930), Jan Compagnie (1932) and De waterman (1933) was a turning point in Van Schendel’s oeuvre.

The Van Schendel collection of the Literary Museum covers the period 1890-1981. After his death, Van Schendel’s records were administered by his heirs, who donated them to the museum in 1980. The collection includes various kinds of documents, including those left in the bequest of G.H. ’s-Gravesande, Van Schendel’s first biographer, and Van Schendel’s son, Arthur van Schendel Jr. Also included are letters to and from Arthur van Schendel, handwritten documents, typescripts, printer’s proofs and personal papers.

The manuscript of the novel Een Hollandsch drama (published in 1935) has been selected for this site (click 'inhoudsopgave' to browse through the document).

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