Subject

Neel Doff

Credit for this entry to:
Jean-Michel Pochet

Neel Doff

War dead  Male  Born 27/1/1858  Died 14/7/1942

Categories: Literature

Countries: Netherlands

Born in Buggenum, Holland. The third in a poor family of 9 children, she educated her brothers and sisters. She had an extremely difficult early life, including prostitution to help support the family. She also worked as an artists’ model (Rops, Ensor, Toulouse-Lautrec) and in Antwerp she met the author, Colette. Aged 20 in Brussels, she posed for the her near-namesake, Nele, on the monument for Charles De Coster (see site 14 on the Bailli - pl. Flagey map). She married first a man active in literature, and when widowed, she married a lawyer. Aged 50 she began writing of her experiences and achieved fame as a writer. Her first book, "Jours de Famine et de Détresse" (Days of Starvation and Distress) published in Paris in 1911, received 3 votes at the Prix Goncourt. In 1921 she moved to Ixelles, Brussels and died here in 1942 having left her house to her good friends and neighbours, Franz and Maroussia Hellens, who then moved into the house. Neel Doff was 28 years older than Franz Hellens and thus old enough to be his mother.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Neel Doff

Information Commemorated at

Neel Doff et Franz Hellens

This plaque names two people without comment. For the link between them clic...

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This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Neel Doff

Information Creations

Charles de Coster at the Lakes

This delightful monument was chosen as the featured memorial in July 2002 bec...

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