In the excerpt from a 1959 letter to her brother, posed as a prelude to the book, Bertha de Rijck van der Gracht-Kerkhoven affirms that, contrary to common belief, a meaningful view on the past can often be achieved through the usually overlooked ‘side-lights’, those details and glances delving into everyday vicissitudes and feelings, only apparently trivial and instead able to keep the focus broad and narrow at the same time. In this spirit and thanks to private documents, journals and lett [...]

The Tea Lords was written by Hella Haasse. Are you familiar with her novels? She's written many. Haasse lives in the Netherlands and published her first novel in 1945. So what's that? 66 years ago. In those 66 years this is only her fourth book to make it into English and only three of these four have been published in the U.S. That's sad for readers of first rate historical fiction but maybe an opportunity for a publisher.Dutch colonialism in the East Indies (now Indonesia) is the setting for T [...]

Kisah Rudolf dalam buku ini sangat menarik. Mulai dari bagaimana dia tertarik hijrah dari Belanda ke Hindia timur, menyusul ayah dan ibunya yang kala itu sudah menjadi pengusaha kebun teh dan kina. Rudolf sendiri lulusan teknik Delft, sebuah kampus kenamaan yang sebenarnya mampu menjadikan Rudolf orang sukses dalam bisnis di Eropa. Tetapi akhirnya dia tetap hijrah ke Belanda.Ternyata, di sana, khususnya Priangan sudah banyak keluarga menjadi 'juragan perkebunan' di sekitaran Gunug Salak, Gunung [...]

My Jakarta Globe review of The Tea LordsThe Tea Lords by Hella S. Haasse “is a novel, but it is not ‘fiction’”, writes the author in a vital note, tucked away at the very end of the book. Factual histories often focus on the big figures – princes, revolutionaries and governors-general – and leave the lives of the bit players to writers of historical fiction. The Tea Lords, straddling the strange gap between these genres, focuses on the “side-lights” of Indonesia’s colonial past [...]

I find it impossible not to wonder how much is been lost in between the words of the different languages. Speaking only one fluently but dabbling in a couple of others has taught me there’s some phrases unique to a national voice which are absent in others, and although it’s more difficult to spot them in the printed page, it’s still fun to look.The Tea Lords is colonial historical ‘fiction’ (it’s based on real documents). I concentrated on this subject as a student, so I kept drawin [...]

I chose this book for a ‘readalong’ as part of Dutch Literature Month at Iris on Books because as a former teacher of Indonesian language, I’ve been to Indonesia and know a bit about their history and culture. The Tea Lords is about a Dutch colonist who in 1870 follows his father’s footsteps and develops a tea estate in Bandung, but it was written in 1992 (well after the Declaration of Indonesian Independence in 1945), so I thought it would offer an interesting post-colonial Dutch perspe [...]

Ditulis berdasarkan kisah nyata kehidupan keluarga Rudolph Kerkhoven. Keluarga Belanda yang hidup sebagai juragan teh di Gamboeng, suatu daerah terpencil di Jawa Barat pada tahun 1873 sd 1918. Hari-hari yang dilalui oleh Rudolph setelah kembali dari Belanda, tempat ia menamatkan sekolahnya. Kembali ke Hindia, mengikuti jejak orang tuanya menjadi pengusaha perkebunan di pedalaman Jawa Barat. Keberhasilan ayahnya sebagai juragan teh membuat Rudolph ingin menuai keberhasilan yang sama, sukses membu [...]

I really enjoyed reading this book, for several reasons:1. It is very well written. 2. I grew up in an area mentioned in this book! But I never ever once knew anything about who started those tea plantations and what effort they put in it. It is really interesting to know the history of the plantations and also in a way of the area where I grew up!3. The book also gives me more perspective on the dutch colonials. It is amazing to know that some Dutch did learn to speak Sundanese! I wish I could [...]

À la page 114, j'abdique. La vie est trop belle, trop courte et trop pleine de livres fascinants. Ici, on se retrouve en Indes et en Indonésie avec une famille hollandaise qui cultive des plantations de thé. Le tableau n'est pas inintéressant, raison pour lequel j'avais décidé d'y plonger mon regard. Cependant, la froideur des personnages, la pâleur du scénario, l'inutile complexité des phrases qui s'ajoutent aux multiples noms de famille complexe rendent le tout sans éclat et sans int [...]

3.5 sterren. Een mooie, psychologische worsteling in Nederlands-Indië, maar af en toe te veel beschrijvingen.

Mooi boek.

Last week I went for a weekend hike south of Bandung near Malabar mountains. The Malabar guest house in fact is the location where RAK Bosscha, the nephew of leading character Rudolph Kerkhove is leading their successful tea plantations. The surrounding is stunningly beautiful and Bosscha has indeed done a great job for his uncle since the tea still grows here in any available piece of soil. The novel is true history based on the letters written in between the family and Hella Haase made it read [...]

Menarik sekali membaca kehidupan para Preanger Planter yang merintis perkebunan (teh, kopi, kina) di Hindia Belanda. Banyak sisi sejarah yg tidak saya ketahui sebelumnya. Novel drama ini mengambil latar sejarah kehidupan nyata seorang Rudolf Kerkhoven yg membuka perkebunan Gambut, selain juga Malabar dan Negla. (masih kerabat klan Holle dan Bosscha yg lebih terkenal namanya di Bandung). Membaca karya Hella Hasse ini kita benar2 serasa dilemparkan kembali ke zaman silam, ketika Indonesia masih me [...]

Neither fish nor fowl This is a fiction book based on fact and is in fact less fiction than many non-fiction books I've read over time (many of them extrapolate conversations etc). It's a pretty mundane life of a man from the Netherlands who becomes a tea and quinine planter in Indonesia.  His life is full of ups and downs and things become complicated when family, business and politics are mixed.  Overall I was fairly underwhelmed and had to almost force myself to go back to it.  I mean it w [...]

Novel historis ini menarik banget sebab ditulis dari arsip surat-surat pribadi di lingkaran keluarga. Belum pernah tahu ada novel yang ditulis dari arsip surat pribadi. Dari sini kita bisa membayangkan realitas dan kondisi sosial di Jawa (Barat) awal abad ke-20, di mana misalnya listrik mulai masuk, telepon masuk, mobil muncul di Jawa. Tak hanya berkenaan dengan teknologi baru yang bermunculan di tanah jajahan (Jawa), melainkan bagaimana hiruk-pikuk orang-orang Belanda di masa itu yang mulai keh [...]

Ongelooflijk wat Hella Haasse steeds uithaalt met de Nederlandse taal. Zelfs de eerste bladzijde van het boek leerde ik een nieuw woord. Het thema vond ik dan weer minder dan "In het Woud der Verwachting" (die gaf ik 6 van de 5 sterren), en dat maakte dat de eerste 100 blz een worsteling waren, eens te meer omdat ik geen voeling heb met het opstarten en beheren van een theeplantage. De laatste 140 blz compenseerden meer dan genoeg voor de eerste 100, en op het einde bleef ik verstomd achter om d [...]

Haasse, Hella S Heren van de thee. Aangrijpend relaas over de familiegeschiedenis van de Kerkhovens, theeplanters op Java. Het boek berust op geschiedkundig materiaal en laat sterke beelden achter. Cijfer: 8. Gelezen: 2002.

Much preferred the first half of the book, with all the character development and deep thoughts, rather than the latter half which sped through events without much detail. Still such an interesting book & beautiful translation!

I now understand why Haase is called the grand old lady of Dutch lit. Can't wait to read Oeroeg.

worth it dibaca!! skrg bingung mau bikin reviewnya gmn. buku bagus memang susah dibikin review hehe

3.5I liked the book at the beginning, but I found the last part terrible. Overall I really liked the book, I'm only dissapointed in the ending.

Soms wel moeilijk, soms moet je wel even teruglezen om goed te snappen wat er bedoelt wordt, maar over het algemeen toch goed te lezen.

Rudolf Kerkhoven meninggalkan Belanda menuju Hindia. Ia baru saja menamatkan pendidikan teknik di Delft. Hindia Belanda memberikan peluang dan harapan bagi Rudolf. Sanak saudara keluarga Kerkhoven memang banyak yang membuka perkebunan di Hindia. Ayah Rudolf membuka perkebunan di daerah Priangan yang bernama Anjarsari. Perkebunan Paman Eduard terletak di daerah Parakan Salak. Sepupunya Karel Holle mempunyai perkebunan di daerah Waspada. Setibanya di Hindia, Rudolf mempelajari seluk beluk perkebun [...]

Ik had eigenlijk niet verwacht dat ik dit zo’n mooi boek zou vinden; het stond al jaren in mijn kast en had nooit zin het eruit te halen. Maar ik ben er dus wel enthousiast over. Mooi geschreven, mooi tijd- en sfeerbeeld van het Javaanse Nederlands-Indië. De roman is gebaseerd op archiefmateriaal van de betrokken families. Ik vind dit materiaal heel mooi in de roman verwerkt. Boeiend zijn de passages uit briefwisselingen en bijvoorbeeld uit Jenny’s dagboek als jong meisje. Wat haar gevoelen [...]

I'm srsly bored with this book. Think will never keep up with this book anymore. I wonder how could I get bored of this book. maybe because it's too peaceful??

Sebagai sebuah novelisasi dari kehidupan nyata Rudolf Kerekhoven yang mendirikan perkebunan teh di Gambung, Bandung -Barat novel ini berhasil mendeskripsikannya dengan sangat baik. Penulis tampaknya setia pada fakta-fakta kehidupan keluarga Kerkhoven berdasarkan dokumen dan surat-surat pribadi keluarga Kerkhoven yang diperoleh penulis dari Arsip Perkebunan Teh dan Keluarga Besar Hindia.Berbagai drama kehidupan yang terjadi pada tokoh utamanya memang benar-benar terjadi sehingga novel ini bisa di [...]

This story is composed of letters from the family archive of a Dutch family who where thee field owners on Java when Indonesia was still colonial . The protagonist is Rudolf, an aristocratic and disciplined man who is building is own thee field. The book starts with a quote from Bertha, his youngest child, who states that the facts are dead but letters have the power to bring the persons alive by telling the thoughts and emotions of the people. In that way we can relive the customs of the past.I [...]

"Heren van de thee" by Hella S. HaaseRead: 2009April 24, 2015 As a recommendation by my Dutch teacher from high school, I’ve read ‘Heren van de Thee’ by Hella S. Haase somewhere in 2009. She told us to ask her for recommendations for our Dutch literature portfolio, which I gladly did. She asked me what kind of books I liked and I told her: history, books that take some time to read, books that made me think and that was it. She asked me some other questions and eventually she advised me th [...]

A friend gave a copy of the English version of this book as a farewell present (well it's more like she had to give away her books prior to moving back to her country) but it took me two years before I finally decided to read it. How I wish I'd read it sooner! I admit that the reason why I enjoy the story so much is rather subjective, since I was born and raised in Bandung. The lush depiction of Priangan landscapes of the late 18th century and the romantic feeling it brought me is why I gave it [...]

3.5/5*This is my first attempt reading the history of colonialism in Java from the Dutch point of view. Coming from a neighbouring country (Malaysia), I am more familiar with the British colonialism literatures. This book basically sums the history of a big Dutch family tea planters, which plantations located in a few places such as Ardjasari, Gambong, Malabar and Perakan Salak. Even though designed as a novel, it is actually based on a true story. Contrary to my early expectation, this book air [...]