The Author

Willem Elsschot (1882 – 1960) was the pseudonym of Alfons de Ridder, head of a successful advertising agency who, unbeknownst to his family, was a hugely successful novelist in his spare time. Cheese, his breakthrough novel, was first published in Dutch in 1933 and is also published by Granta. Paul Vincent taught Dutch language and literature for many years at London University before becoming a full-time translator in 1989. He has translated various Dutch prose writers, including Harry Mulisch, Margriet de Moor, J. Bernlef and H. M. van den Brink.