Frank Jansen

Nachtvlinder

King Olaf of Haland is an albino who lives in a gloomy castle. Abraham Mogèn, an alchemist, wants to aid the king. But on his way to the castle he is murdered by the highwayman Wogram and his servant Onorg. Wogram disguises himself as the alchemist and wins the favor of the king.

Dying to Go Home

A Portuguese imigrant in Holland dies in an accident and is buried in Amsterdam. But his soul will not rest in peace until his body is carried back to Portugal.

De kersenpluk

De Kersenpluk tells the story about Jan visiting his grandfather for the last time during the summer in a little village in Drenthe. Thanks to Jan, his grandfather decides to do what he never dared during his entire life. Jan, as an outsider, is some sort of spectator of the life in the village, although he is also involved in that life.

Priest Daens

In the 1890s, Father Adolf Daens goes to Aalst, a textile town where child labor is rife, pay and working conditions are horrible, the poor have no vote, and the Catholic church backs the petite bourgeoisie in oppressing workers. He writes a few columns for the Catholic paper, and soon workers are listening and the powerful are in an uproar. He's expelled from the Catholic party, so he starts the Christian Democrats and is elected to Parliament. After Rome disciplines him, he must choose between two callings, as priest and as champion of workers. In subplots, a courageous young woman falls in love with a socialist and survives a shop foreman's rape; children die; prelates play billiards.