From filing cabinet to novel, Binie Bos wrote a book about her grandmother and ‘mysterious’ grandfather

Ten years ago, in 2014, Binie Bos (73) from Eelde delved into the archives for the first time. She did this for the search for her ‘mysterious’ grandfather. A search that subsequently led to the novel ‘Blue Blonde‘ in which the life of her grandmother Tebien Brian is central.

Her grandfather was a Belgian soldier who fled to the Netherlands with his men after the fall of Antwerp during the First World War. He ended up via Camp Zeist in Leens, North Groningen, where he was able to work as a flax worker. There he bumped into Tebien and soon the spark flew.

The title of the book Blue Blonde comes from the flax flower. That light blue flower only blooms one day a year. The novel is Bos’s first book. A debut at a relatively old age.

Bos hoped to be able to publish her book earlier. “In 2019 I was going to look for a publisher, but then the corona crisis came and that is no time to go to the market with a book. I think you should be able to pick up a debut novel in the store. Then it was quiet, that was not wrong and then I started rereading it and changed things again. I could relate very well to the period of the Spanish flu, ” says the debutante.

If you are curious about the story behind Blauwblomme, watch Cassata’s video below.