Thea Beckman
Thea Beckman (1923-2004) was was born in Rotterdam. She began writing in 1947, but it was not until her children were grown, that she devoted herself to writing full time. Crusade in Jeans was first published in 1973. It became an overnight success, making her one of the most popular authors of juvenile books in the Netherlands. Ms. Beckman is fascinated by history and wrote books about many historical periods Ñfrom the Middle Ages to the future.In 1974 Crusade in Jeans was awarded The Golden Pen (the most prestigious Dutch national award for children's books). In 1976 the Province of Trento, Italy, named it the Best European Historical Juvenile Book. In 1984 Ms. Beckman was awarded the Huib de Ruyter Prijs (a prize from Dutch teachers for all her historical novels).
