Patrick deWitt

On 7 June we welcome the Canadian bestselling author Patrick deWitt at BorderKitchen.

DeWitt (Vancouver Island, 1970) is the first to admit that luck played a major role in his career: while working as a bartender with writing ambitions, he let a regular customer read his manuscript. This screenwriter was impressed and, in turn, passed it on to an acquaintance who had once been in a band with someone who later became a literary agent. One thing led to another, and two years later DeWitt suddenly received a phone call from that literary agent asking whether he would like to publish his book.

Meanwhile, DeWitt has three successful books to his name and has been nominated for the Man Booker Prize.

At BorderKitchen, DeWitt will talk about his latest book Ondermajordomus Minor. He will be interviewed (in English) by literary journalist Maarten Dessing.

About Ondermajordomus Minor
This latest book by Patrick deWitt follows the young Lucien (Lucy) Minor, a compulsive liar and unloved loner in a village of giants, who accepts a job as “undermajordomo” at a grim castle in a remote mountain region—“a decision that led to all manner of complications, including, but not limited to, true love, bitter heartbreak, white-hot mental anguish, and an acute urge to commit murder.” At the castle and in the surrounding village he encounters, among others, a melancholic butler, a deranged baron, a group of aristocrats addicted to sexual excess, a pair of sympathetic thieves, and not least the charming Klara, for whose hand he competes with an exceptionally handsome partisan.

“In Ondermajordomus Minor, DeWitt’s captivating new flight of imagination, he begins with a fairy tale and takes the reader into a Gothic Europe that is not only free of morality and moralising, but downright allergic to even the idea of it.” – The Guardian

“Patrick deWitt’s mix of fantasy and Gothic romance is a delightful treat.” – The Independent

Ondermajordomus Minor is published by Nijgh & Van Ditmar. The book is translated by Saskia van der Lingen and Caroline Meijer.

After the event there will be an opportunity to have the book signed by Patrick deWitt. Bookshop Van Stockum will be present to sell books.

Date: Tuesday 7 June
Start time: 20.00
Location: BorderKitchen, Kerkstraat 11, The Hague
Tickets: €7.50 – available via the BorderKitchen website