"De stille kracht" (= Dutch for "the hidden force") is a book from 1900. Written by Louis Couperus (1863 - 1923), a Dutch writer who acquired himself an international reputation.
Part of Couperus' work is situated in the former Dutch East Indes, nowadays' Indonesia. That also goes for "De stille kracht". Its story deals with a problem arising from Dutch colonial government. Apart from having a clever plot, Couperus' book also provides a clear insight in the Dutch colonial society of around 1900.
In 1974 Dutch TV-director Walter van der Kamp (who died recently) transferred this book's contents into a TV-series. It was an instant hit in the Netherlands, not in the least by Van der Kamp's magnificent, right & authentic touch of the Dutch colonial society of those days. Back in 1974 many Dutch people still had strong emotional ties their former East Indes.
In 2009 this colony has become much more a thing of the past than it was in 1974. What remains, however, is the excellence of Van der Kamp's series. Still widely regarded as among the very best (Dutch) TV ever produced.
