Conscience, Hendrik

Conscience, Hendrik hĕnˈdrĭk kôNsēäNsˈ [key], 1812–83, Flemish novelist, a founder of modern Flemish literature. His many historical novels were romantic but powerful, in the tradition of Scott; outstanding is De Leuw van Vlaenderen (1831, tr. The Lion of Flanders, 1885). In later years Conscience devoted his talents to moralistic social novels and idealized stories of Flemish village life. Among these are The Poor Nobleman (1851, tr. 1856) and Ricke ticke tack (1851, tr. 1856). His work enjoyed a great vogue in the United States in the late 1800s.

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