Willy Corsari | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Willy Corsari in 1921 | |
| Born | Wilhelmina Angela Schmidt 26 December 1897 Jette, Belgium |
| Died | 11 May 1998 (aged 100) Amstelveen, Netherlands |
| Language | Dutch |
| Genre | Cabaret, Children's fiction, Detective fiction |
| Notable awards | Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau |
| Spouse | Antoni Ewoud Sichterman, Hendrik Willem Cornelis Douwens |
| Children | Paul Ewoud Sichterman |
| Signature | |
 | |
Willy Corsari (26 December 1897 – 11 May 1998) was the stage name and pen name of Wilhelmina Angela Schmidt, a Dutch actor, author and composer. She is noted for her detective fiction and has been termed the Dutch Agatha Christie. Born in Jette, a municipality of Brussels, the daughter of a singer and a musician, she spent an itinerant childhood living in the Dutch East Indies, Germany and the Netherlands. Corsari developed as a writer at an early age, being first published at age ten. In 1914, she had her musical debut at the cabaret De Kattebel, performing on stage until 1932. At the same time, she developed her writing career. In 1927, she published her first three books, including Misdaad zonder Fouten (Crime without Mistakes). Many more followed. She also produced plays for the stage and radio, and, in 1972 an album of songs that she wrote and composed entitled Liedjes in de Schemer (Songs in the Twilight). During the Second World War, she gave a German deserter refuge and was consequentially imprisoned in Scheveningen, although released due to insufficient evidence. After the war, Corsari continued to publish and reached a peak in 1958 with over 200,000 copies of her omnibus sold in a year. She continued to write, producing Spelen met de dood (Playing with Death) in 1983, although by that time her output had reduced to very low levels. She was made a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 1990 and died in Amstelveen in 1998.