Cornelis de Jong was born in South Africa in 1954 and spent most of his childhood on bare feet under the African sun. Although educated along strict Calvinist principles which demand we make the most of our God-given talents, he chose not to follow further education but joined the army instead. Disillusioned by perverse political meddling in several African civil wars, five years later he resigned – but his love for a regimented life-style prompted him to join the fire service. At the age of 27 he had risen to some prominence as an officer but, again, being in public service brought the absurdities of apartheid close to home. Derided by his colleagues for putting his elder son in a mixed private school, he took the bold step to move his family to Europe in 1987.

European life and culture proved at first to be obscure and very hard to break into. Having been an instructor in both the military and the fire service, he was advised to try teaching. From the age of 12 Cornelis had only two ambitions: to be a farmer or a writer. In Calvinist society writers are among God’s chosen few; and being a farmer required land which one usually inherited from an ancestor. Not having land and suffering from a frustrating form of dyslexia which makes writing very awkward meant his boyhood dreams might not be realised. But, not lacking in perseverance (and having been a voracious reader from his teens – which proved to be most valuable), six years later he graduated with top honours from the University of Nijmegen with an MA in English.

Cornelis taught English at A-levels for twenty-five years; now blissfully retired to spend more time on writing. His sons meanwhile are quite grown up and have made their own way in life. He lives with his wife in a tiny Dutch house, with a charming postage-stamp garden, in a leafy suburb somewhere in Brabant.