IN MY GRANDFATHER'S HOUSE.

New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988. 240 pp, oblong (10 1/4" H x 12 1/8" D). Beautifully illustrated in colour throughout. "(T)he fascinating saga, told with pen and brush, of a rural family in old Holland - the Poortvliets - going back ten generations to Cornelis Adriaensz, who died in 1649. Characteristically evocative, Poortvliet's work is remarkable in its ability to touch us. With equal skill he conveys the coziness of a comfortable house set in a bleak and brooding snowy landscape and the light-hearted revelry of a winter carnival. (This book) does not conjure up a romantic vision of the past - the Dutch countryside was not all tulips and windmills. There was hardship and hard work, like that of the young cowherd seen here - an eight-year-old boy whose long and lonely day began at four o'clock in the morning and only ended when he returned home at six o'clock in the evening. We learn of the many Dutch families in the early days who endured the deaths of five, ten, or more babies, and of their joy in those that survived. We even learn of such nocturnal annoyances as the families of noisy mice that shared the straw mattresses of the country folk. (The author's) colorful heritage, traced back to the 1600s, while it does not include rich and famous people, does include characters and stories to rival those of a soap opera in their intricacy and human interest. Those accounts are based on ancient documents such as birth and death certificates and church records, some of which are reproduced. Exploring his own roots, Poortvliet captures the beauty in the faces and in the lives of the country people of Holland as he illuminates their odyssey into modern times." Light to moderate edge wear to boards including a few very small dents, previous owner's bookplate on front free endpaper, some light toning to the margins of the pages, minor rubbing on the boards. Dust jacket has small faint stain on inside of spine, light toniing to the edges, very light wrinkling at top/bottom of spine and flap-folds, slight wear at bottom of spine, a few faint rub lines.. Not Signed. First American Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. Illus. by Rien Poortvliet. With calligraphy by Diane Lynch..