Release date is 2026-02-08

The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

"Het beloofde land" by Ina Boudier-Bakker is a novel written in the early 20th century. Set on a desolate heath, it follows Eli Bag, heir to a fierce lineage, who returns to the village of Lode to reclaim the wasteland and lift its people out of poverty. The story turns on his battle between visionary purpose and human frailty, his bond with the gentle, solitary Adam Feke, and a quiet, deepening tie to Hester Ross.

The opening of the novel sketches the Bags’ storm-battered homestead and a lineage of powerful, wayward men, then narrows to Jelle Bag—boisterous, generous, and undone by drink—his loveless marriage to Maria, and their sensitive son, Eli, who finds steadiness in the hermit-smith Adam Feke, a man broken by an old betrayal. After Jelle’s sudden death, Maria reclaims the boy; Eli grows up distant from her, restless, and fearful of inheriting his father’s weakness. Wandering, he learns land reclamation from a kinsman and returns with a plan: fund steady work to transform Lode’s heath through the Kloeve estate, for gains their children will reap. Two years in, the village is portrayed in its stubborn rhythms—Tine Ross waiting for her long-absent son, evenings under the lindens, Adam’s haunting flute—while Eli swings between doubt and resolve; in a barn meeting he wins most hands to stay the course despite grumblers like Jonas Laret, and afterward a charged moment with Hester confirms her love even as he admits how heavy the struggle feels. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: Amsterdam: P. N. van Kampen & Zoon, 1916