Book: Achttien

 A new book on Princess Elisabeth, albeit a fictional version of the real life Elisabeth ...

In his latest novel 'Achttien' (Eightteen), Belgian author Maarten Inghels intertwines his fictional adventures as author of a literary portrait on Princess Elisabeth, commissioned for her 18th birthday, with memories of himself at the same age, and reflections about the way his young daughter looks at the world, a vision populated with princess dresses and unicorns. 

It's a highly entertaining novel, published in Dutch by Das Mag. Inghels has certainly done his homework, researching all there is to know about Elisabeth, even though in his version the Princess writes poetry that she wants to see published under an alias, she escapes her bodyguards to take part in climate protest marches and she has "Balance ton porc" (MeToo) tatooed on her lower abdomen.

The best part of the book however is where Inghels talks about his own time as a young poet and the surveys he performed about the hopes, fears and dreams of Belgian 18 year olds today.

Warmly recommended! 

Achttien
Maarten Inghels
Das Mag, 2026
ISBN 9789493399709
https://dasmag.nl/product/achttien/
€ 22,99