Nellie van Kol

Nellie van Kol ( Porreij; pen name/nickname, Nellie; 12 December 1851 – 24 February 1930) was a Dutch feminist, educator, and children's author also active in Belgium. She contributed to the cause of women and had a great influence on the development of children's literature in the 20th century.

Early life and education Jacoba Maria Petronella Porreij was born in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, on 12 December 1851. Her parents, David Porrey (1818-1864), a state tax official, and Sophia Frederika Juliana Wilhelmina Neirinckx (1828-1909) were devout members of the Dutch Reformed Church. Van Kol was the eldest of six children. Her father died when she was fourteen. Despite financial difficulties, she attended a boarding school (1866-1869) where she studied to become a teacher, not by vocation, but to meet her needs and those of her family (her mother, grandmother, brother, and her half-sister).

Career She worked for several years as a teacher (1871-1876), notably in Baarn and then at the Hernhütters boarding school for girls in Barby, Germany. She did not like her life in the Dutch East Indies, as she regularly noted in her diary: "With my thirst for higher knowledge, I have to teach the alphabet to children. I would like to cry out in despair and bitterness!" In 1892, Nellie van Kol and her husband returned to Europe permanently, settling again in Belgium.

Van Kol published articles in the Dutch magazine Evolutie and took a stand on issues such as sex education, the monarchy, feminism, and socialism. Henri van Kol is often absent, traveling a lot in the Netherlands and in the Dutch Indies. During this period the two spouses gradually separate. Nellie van Kol became interested in religious socialism, the , theosophy, and spiritualism. She also became a vegetarian. She retired from public life, resigning from most of her functions. In the article "Exeo" (I'm leaving; or I'm dying), she takes leave of the editorial staff of De Vrouw.

From 1901 onwards, van Kol turned to Christianity, joining The Salvation Army in 1908 and publishing regular articles in their magazine De Strijdkreet. She declared herself "converted and born again". This conversion was very badly perceived in the socialist milieu. Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis called van Kol a "lost sheep", but continued to see her as an ideal woman working for the good of the people. In 1913, she was co-organizer of the exhibition De Vrouw 1813-1913 in Amsterdam, where she was responsible for the children's reading department. In 1919, the separation from her husband is final. From 1925, she lived successively in De Bilt, Amerongen, and Doorn.

Death and legacy Nellie van Kol died on 24 February 1930 in Utrecht at the age of 79. Soldiers of the Salvation Army carried her to her grave.

The Nellie van Kol Archive is kept at Atria Institute on gender equality and women's history in Amsterdam.

Selected works

De belegerde stad, 1908. (text) Bloemensprookjes, 1883 Brieven aan Minette van Nellie, 1884. Der bloemen sprookjeswereld. Bloemensagen, -legenden, -sprookjes, 1908. (text) Chineesche schimmen. Vertellingen en legenden uit China, 1906. (text) Een geheim en andere verhalen, Nelly van Kol (ed.), Netty Heyligers (ill.) Het heele jaar rond. Feesten, gebruiken, vertellingen en legenden, in Nederland en elders, 6 vol. 1903. (vol. 1), (vol. 2), (vol. 3), (vol. 4), (vol. 5), (vol. 6). In 't schemeruur bij 't knappend vuur, 1904. (text) Kinderversjes, Netty Heyligers (ill.), 1923. Nellie's groote vertelselboek. Sprookjes en vertellingen van Mevrouw van Kol, 1931. (text) Onze oudjes in hun lief en leed, 1907. (text) Parels. Keur van vertellingen voor de rijpere jeugd, 1904. (text) Stralen van één licht. Keur van vertellingen, voor de rijpere jeugd, 1902. (text) Uit Egypteland, 1906. (text) Uit het groene Erin. Iersche verhalen en sagen, 1904. (text) Uit het land van Bretagne. Middeleeuwsche legenden, 1904. (text) Van blond en bruin. Kinder-levensbeeldjes, 1905. (text) Van strijd en moeite. Schetsen voor de rijpere jeugd, 1920. (text) Van 't zelfde ras. Vijf verhalen voor de rijpere jeugd, 1903. (text)