Gerard Reve.

Gerard Kornelis van het Reve was born in Amsterdam in 1923 to Janetta Jacoba Doornbusch and Gerard J.M. van het Reve. His older brother Karel van het Reve became a prominent writer and anti-communist, though the brothers broke off relations in the 1980s. Reve attended the Vossius Gymnasium, where he received his formal education.

Reve achieved literary breakthrough with his novel De avonden The Evenings, which made him a leading postwar writer. With Willem Frederik Hermans and Harry Mulisch, he formed the Great Three of Dutch literature. Paul Verhoeven adapted his 1981 novel De vierde man The Fourth Man into a 1983 film. Other film adaptations include Dear Boys 1980 and Evenings 1989. Reve’s writing combined eroticism and religion; his open homosexuality sparked both controversy and acceptance.

Reve married Hanny Michaelis in 1948; they divorced in 1959. He married Joop Schafthuizen in 1975, and they stayed together until his death in 2006. As one of the first openly gay authors in the Netherlands, Reve wrote openly about same-sex desire. His 1966 novel Nader tot U sparked the Donkey Trial, where he was acquitted in 1968. His relationship with his brother Karel was strained; they broke off contact in the 1980s.

Gerard Reve is remembered as one of the Great Three of Dutch postwar literature, alongside Hermans and Mulisch. His frank depictions of homosexuality helped normalize same-sex relationships in Dutch society. The Donkey Trial of 1966–68 made blasphemy laws unenforceable, leading to their repeal in 2013. Paul Verhoeven’s 1983 film adaptation brought his novel The Fourth Man to international attention. Reve received numerous awards: the P.C. Hooft Award, the Dutch Literature Prize, and was knighted in the Order of Orange-Nassau. He died in 2006 in Zulte, Belgium, from Alzheimer’s disease.