CREMER

cremer, jakobus jan (1837-1880), dutch novelist, born at arnhem in september 1837, started life as a painter, but soon exchanged the brush for the pen. the great success of his first novelettes (_betuwsche novellen_ and _overbetuwsche novellen_), published about 1855--reprinted many times since, and translated into german and french--showed cremer the wisdom of his new departure. these short stories of dutch provincial life are written in the quaint dialect of the betuwe, the large flat gelderland island, formed by the rhine, the name recalling the presumed earliest inhabitants, the batavi. cremer is strongest in his delineation of character. his picturesque humour, coming out, perhaps, most forcibly in his numerous readings of the betuwe novelettes, soon procured him the name of the "dutch fritz reuter." in his later novels cremer abandons both the language and the slight love-stories of the betuwe, depicting the dutch life of other centres in the national tongue. the principal are: _anna rooze_ (1867), _dokter helmond en zijn vrouw_ (1870), _hanna de freule_ (1873), _daniel sils_, &c. cremer was less successful as a playwright, and his two comedies, _peasant and nobleman_ and _emma bertholt_, did not enhance his fame; nor did a volume of poems, published in 1873. he died at the hague in june 1880. his collected novels have appeared at leiden. an english novel, founded by albert vandam upon _anna rooze_, considered by many his best work, was published in london (1877, 3 vols.) under the title of _an everyday heroine_. cremera (mod. _fosso della valchetta_), a small stream in etruria which falls into the tiber about 6 m. n. of rome. the identification with the fosso della valchetta is fixed as correct by the account in livy ii. 49, which shows that the saxa rubra were not far off, and this we know to be the roman name of the post station of prima porta, about 7 m. from rome on the via flaminia. it is famous for the defeat of the three hundred fabii, who had established a fortified post on its banks.