At a young age, Beckman knew she wanted to be a writer. As a teenager, she would write numerous stories and would listen to various types of music, ranging from classic to exciting film scores, depending on the kind of scene she was writing. Beckman studied social psychology while she was in her twenties, attending the University of Utrecht. In wake of the 1929 economic crisis, her father lost his job and Beckman was glad she had finished her studies, especially after World War II occurred. As a writer, she intended to use her husband's name of Beckmann as her pseudonym. Her publisher urged her to change it to Beckman with only one "n" to prevent her name from sounding "too German", in wake of Germany's negative reputation after World War II. Beckman is best known for Crusade in Jeans, a 1973 children's time travel novel for which she was awarded the Gouden Griffel. The book describes a children's crusade in 1212 and was adapted into a movie in 2006. She also received notable attention for her trilogy Children of Mother Earth, which depicted a post-apocalyptic earth where soldiers from societies led by men invade and disrupt a newfound Greenlandic society, which is led by women. Though the book contained feminist themes, Beckman did not consider the book's ideology as her own, stating: "People are greedy, aggressive and intolerant." In this statement, she specifically referred to the idea that a female society would work out better as one she did not believe in. She died in her residence in Bunnik of unknown causes in 2004, aged 80.
Personal life
In 1945, Thea married Dirk Hendrik Beckman. Their marriage produced three children, their two sons Rien and Jerry and their only daughter Marianne. Dirk Beckman died in 1993. Thea Beckman was not religious and chose not to reveal a political orientation.
The trilogy Kinderen van Moeder Aarde a futuristic novel set ten centuries after World War III, describing the struggle between utopian Thule and Baden
De doge-ring van Venetië – about a trip to Venice to obtain an important relic for an abbey.
Saartje Tadema – about an orphan girl in the Amsterdam orphanage
Vrijgevochten – about a sailor boy who is captured as a slave
Gekaapt!
Thea Beckman prize
After her death, the Historisch Nieuwsblad renamed the "Bontekoe-award" as the Thea Beckman award. In 2004, it was awarded to Benny Lindelauf for his book Negen open armen. In 2005, it was given to Belgian authors Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem and Pat Beirs for the novelJonkvrouw.
