The Tree and the Vine: The Queer Fiction of Dola de Jong

First published in 1954 in the Netherlands, Dola de Jong’s The Tree and the Vine was a groundbreaking work.

About this Event

When Bea meets Erica at the home of a mutual friend, this chance encounter sets the stage for the story of two women torn between desire and taboo in the years leading up to the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. Erica, a reckless young journalist, pursues passionate but abusive affairs with different women. Bea, a reserved secretary, grows increasingly obsessed with Erica, yet denial and shame keep her from recognizing her attraction. Only Bea's discovery that Erica is half-Jewish and a member of the Dutch resistance—and thus in danger—brings her closer to accepting her own feelings.

Dola de Jong (1911–2003) was born Dorothea Rosalie de Jong in Arnhem, The Netherlands. She worked as a dancer and a reporter before she fled the country in 1940. Settling first with her husband in Tangiers, she immigrated to the United States. She was the author of sixteen books for adults and children, including The Tree and the Vine and The Field, which won the City of Amsterdam Literature Prize in 1947.

Kristen Gehrman lives in The Hague, The Netherlands. Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, she studied linguistics and literary translation at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. In addition to her work as a literary translator, she teaches translation, editing, and writing at Leiden University and VU Amsterdam.

Jennifer Croft is an American author, critic and translator who works from Polish, Ukrainian and Argentine Spanish. With the author Olga Tokarczuk, she was awarded the 2018 Man Booker International Prize for her translation of Flights.