Chapter 1: A Little Background

This is a collection of letters dating from the early days of the twentieth century, although not the twentieth century that we are all familiar with. At that time, in this world, Europe was a continent of contrasts. Great Britain, the centre of a powerful Empire, had been ruled by female monarchs since the days of Queen Elizabeth the First. The remainder of Europe was divided; a collection of tradition-loving principalities (like Brabant), aspiring but often weak republics and corrupt dictatorships, all suffering from their fractured past, revolutions and wars.

Technologically, the era was one of wonders. The 1890’s saw the development of compact, powerful steam engines and a rapid growth in both public and personal transport. Although heavier than air flight still eluded mankind, 1898 had seen the first commercial flight in Europe of a passenger-carrying dirigible airship. By the 1890’s high performance, steam-powered, road vehicles were commonplace, even if the roads themselves were not always as smooth as they might have been. The use of steam transportation was commonplace; the extraction of gas from coal for heating and lighting provided energy for the home; and the use of mechanisation in factories made a wide range of goods available to the general public; although in Europe, at least, the fractured political scene made it difficult for business to reap the benefits of mass production. The first steps had been taken to harness the power of electricity although the phenomena associated with it were scarcely understood. It was seen mainly as a form of exotic entertainment; only a few useful applications had emerged.

In 1901, a wide range of technological marvels were on display at the Great Empire Exhibition at Crystal Palace in London. Alongside them, the arts of the far reaches of Empire in Ancient Egypt, the Greater American Colonies, Equatorial Africa and the distant orient, captured the imagination of the public and entranced them with primitive shapes and decorative forms. In mainland Europe, the rival principalities, dictatorships and republics with far lesser global reach than Britain looked on enviously at the fruits of Empire and the seeming hegemony of English culture.

England and Europe shared a technological heritage but, the social cultures of the two had diverged dramatically. Their societies were quite different. In England over three hundred years of female rule had created a stable society with very different values from the nearby continent where aggression, opportunism and toxic male attitudes held sway.

By 1901, the rather conservative values of Queen Victoria IV were being eroded. Still on the throne but ageing and losing influence the Queen’s duties were increasingly being taken on by her daughter, Princess Victoria Louise. The Princess’s more liberal values had led to a renaissance in the arts and the growth of what some deemed a decadent culture.

Against this background, in Brabant, Amelia de Kooning’s step-father planned an arranged marriage for her, very much against her will. Her mother, hoping to frustrate these plans, made alternative arrangements.

About the Amelia De Kooning Letters.

Amelia wrote regularly to her mother and friends and it is her letters that are collected here.

Amelia de Kooning grew up in the small town of De Helder in the independent principality of Brabant in the Low Countries during the latter part of the nineteenth century. She was not one of life’s natural trouble makers. She had gone to school as she should. She had gone to church as she should. She had helped in the house as she should. She had cared for her sisters as she should.