Mark Prager Lindo (18 September 1819 – 9 March 1877) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

prose writer of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. He was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Early life

He went to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, aged nineteen, and became established there as a private teacher of the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

; he soon made up his mind to remain. In 1842, he passed his examination at

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

, qualifying him as a professor of English in the Netherlands, subsequently becoming a teacher of the English language and literature at the gymnasium in that town. In 1853, he was appointed in a similar capacity at the

Koninklijke Militaire Academie The Royal Military Academy ( or ''KMA'') is the service academy for the Dutch Army, the Dutch Air Force and the Royal Marechaussee. Located in Breda, Southern Netherlands, the KMA has trained future officers since 1828. Description The KMA o ...

(Royal Military Academy) in

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

. Meanwhile, Lindo had obtained a thorough grasp of the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the List of languages by total number of speak ...

, partly during his student years at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

, where in 1854 he gained the degree of doctor of literature for his annotations on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. His proficiency in the two languages led him to translate into Dutch several of the works of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

and others, and afterwards also of

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric. He is best known for his comic novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' (1759–1767) and ''A Sentimental Journey Thro ...

and

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

Literary career

His name is much more likely to endure as the writer of humorous original sketches and

novelette Novelette may refer to: * ''Novelette'' (ballet), a 1926 ballet by Martha Graham * Novelette (literature), a work of narrative prose fiction that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novella * Novelette (music), a short piece of lyri ...

s in Dutch, which he published under the pseudonym of De oude heer Smits (Old Mr. Smits). Among the most popular are ''Brieven en Ontboezemingen'' (''Letters and Confessions'', with three continuations), 1853; ''Familie van Ons'' (''Family of Ours''), 1855; ''Bekentenissen eener Jonge Dame'' (''Confessions of a Young Lady''), 1858; ''Uittreksels uit het Dagboek van Wijlen den Heer Janus Snor'' (''Extracts from the Diary of the Late Mr. Janus Snor''), 1865; ''Typen'' (''Types''), 1871; and, particularly, ''Afdrukken van Indrukken'' (''Impressions from Impressions''), 1854, reprinted many times. The last-named was written in collaboration with Lodewyk Mulder, who contributed some of its drollest whimsicalities of Dutch life and character, which, for that reason, are almost untranslatable. Mulder and Lindo also founded together, and carried on, for a considerable time alone, the ''Nederlandsche Spectator'' (''The Dutch Spectator''), a literary weekly, still published at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, which bears little resemblance to its English prototype, and which perhaps reached its greatest popularity and influence when

Carel Vosmaer Carel Vosmaer (20 March 1826 – 12 June 1888) was a Dutch poet and art critic, born in The Hague. He wrote under the pseudonym Flanor. Life He studied law at the University of Leiden, obtaining a degree in 1851, and was for many years Deputy ...

contributed to it a weekly letter under the title of ''Vlugmaren'' (''Swifts''). Lindo's serious original Dutch writings he published under his own name, the principal one being ''De Opkomst en Ontwikkeling van het Engelsche Volk'' (''The Rise and Development of the British People'', 2 vols. 1868–1874). Lindo was appointed an inspector of

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s in the province of

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

in 1865, a post he held until his death at The Hague on 9 March 1877. Lodewyk Mulder published in 1877–1879 a collected edition of Lindo's writings in five volumes, and there has since been a popular reissue.

Family

He was the son of David Alexandre Lindo (1777–1852) and Mathilda Prager. He married Johanna Nijhoff, daughter of the Arnhem publisher Isaac Anne Nijhoff and Martina Cornelia Houtkamp, on 24 July 1844 in Arnhem. Their son, Isaac Lindo, became an engineer; he is still known in Japan as one of the "Watermannen" for his hydraulic-engineering works, such as the establishment of the Tokyo Pedigree, which would become the standard for height measurement throughout the country.

Works

* ''Jacoba, Hertogin van Gulik, Kleef en Berg, geboren Markgravin van Baden : (Fragment uit de geschledenis van Gulik, Kleef en Berg.)''. - 1847
Digital Edition

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindo, Mark Prager 1819 births 1877 deaths 19th-century British Sephardi Jews 19th-century English educators 19th-century English Jews 19th-century English male writers 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English translators 19th-century Dutch educators 19th-century Dutch male writers 19th-century Dutch Jews 19th-century Dutch novelists 19th-century Dutch translators 19th-century pseudonymous writers Academic staff of Koninklijke Militaire Academie British magazine founders Dutch-language writers Dutch male non-fiction writers Dutch male novelists Dutch magazine founders Dutch Sephardi Jews English comedy writers English emigrants to the Netherlands English male novelists English male non-fiction writers English Sephardi Jews English–Dutch translators Jewish British non-fiction writers Jewish British novelists Jewish comedy writers Jewish educators Jewish English writers Jewish Dutch writers Jewish translators Literary translators Mass media people from The Hague Novelists from London Teachers of English Utrecht University alumni Writers from The Hague