de friese titel de tsien fan martens afke, De Tsien van Martens Afke, in the original Dutch: Afke’s Tiental, is a novel for young people by the Frisian writer of children’s books and political activist Nynke van Hichtum (pseudonym of Sjoukje Maria Diderika Troelstra-Bokma de Boer, 1860- 1939). It was first published in 1903, with illustrations by Cornelis Jetses and Johan Herman Isings. De Tsien van Martens Afke tells about a poor working-class household with ten children in Friesland around 1900. An English translation appeared in 1939 and in 1957 the book was translated into Frisian for the first time, by Tjits Eisenga-De Groot[1] .
de friese titel de tsien fan martens afke
In a village in the Frisian countryside, a large working-class family lives in a disabled house. The mother, Afke, has just had her tenth baby. Despite his poor health, the father works long hours and, on that day in winter, when the farmer sets about plucking the flax, does completely wrong work. Watse, the eldest son, is in military service, while Wypkje, the eldest daughter, works as a maid for a lady in Leeuwarden. But even with the two oldest children out the door, Marten and Afke still have claws to fill all the mouths. Afke’s motherly love shines a light on what would otherwise be a miserable existence, and despite the poverty, the tenth child is greeted with joy.