Betje Wolff

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Betje Wolff, detail of an engraving by Lodewyk Gotlieb Portman after a drawing by Abraham Teerlink after a painting by Petrus Groenia.

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Betje Wolff

Dutch author

Also known as: Elizabeth Wolff-Bekker

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Quick Facts

In full:: Elizabeth Wolff-Bekker

Born:: July 24, 1738, Vlissingen, Neth.

Died:: Nov. 5, 1804, The Hague (aged 66)

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Betje Wolff (born July 24, 1738, Vlissingen, Neth.—died Nov. 5, 1804, The Hague) was a Dutch writer and collaborator with Aagje Deken on the first Dutch novel, De historie van mejuffrouw Sara Burgerhart, 2 vol. (1782; “The History of Miss Sara Burgerhart”). Wolff, the daughter of a prosperous family, ran away with a naval officer at age 17, only to return home in a few days, deeply hurt by the experience. In 1759 she married Adriaan Wolff, a minister more than 30 years her senior. The first writing she did was classical poetry in imitation of Alexander Pope; she also ...(100 of 254 words)

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