Didier and Hermine experience a short-lived affair while studying at the University of Gent. By coincidence they meet again, twelve years later, to travel together to a congress in Vienna. Their past infatuation turns into an intense friendship, in which Hermine inadvertently becomes Didier’s muse. Didier is a classic romanticist, with a great fascination for the dark side of life. Even Hermine is not able to save him. In this breathtaking chronicle of a proclaimed death, Hermine reconstructs the last weeks of his life. In a serene, elegant and subtle style she tries to retrieve his motives. Ultimately, trying to answer the question to what extent it is possible to love someone, while at the same time keeping your distance.

Who Was the Hatter? was published in 1975. The novel received high praise and was awarded with de vbvb Debute Prize a year later. At the time, readers felt they could recognize the protagonists of the story, reminding them of the dramatic relationship between Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.