Huize "Canneheuvel" by Marie Ovink-Soer is a family novel written in the early 20th century. Set around a lively household in The Hague, it follows the close-knit Canneheuvel clan—grandparents at the center, grandson Basje under their roof, and a circle of adult children and spirited grandchildren—through everyday affections, small crises, and gentle adventures. Themes of loyalty, kindness, and domestic warmth predominate, with special focus on Basje, cousins Eric and Tobi, and the musically gifted couple Puck and Frits.The opening of the novel reintroduces the family years after earlier events, now settled in a villa nicknamed the “duiventil” for its constant comings and goings. Basje, once a frail child from the tropics, thrives with his grandparents, dotes on animals, and bonds with dog Terry and cat Muis. A household accident sends the matriarch tumbling down the stairs, endangering her one good eye; doctors Joop and Frits take charge, while the terrified maid Marietje is forgiven and allowed to stay. Months of careful treatment, steadfast nursing by Nel, and Frits’s expert persistence culminate in the moving moment when the mother regains her sight. Alongside this, we see Nel’s children, Eric and Tobi, trying to manage at home with comic kitchen mishaps, and a rainy-day episode where the cousins dash into the “duiventil,” raid the costume trunk, and stage a playful “zigeunerbende” before Grandfather begins a tale about real gypsies. (This is an automatically generated su…
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