Flemish author Karel Verleyen (1938-2006) was a writer of childrens’ books.
He wrote more than one hundred books, as well as poems, plays and lyrics.
His novels addressed themes related to the problems and emotional conflicts confronting older teenagers. The psychological stress surrounding issues such as incest, euthanasia, forbidden love and the abuse of power often featured.
For younger readers the accent was more upon action and adventure, but also detective and ghoulish elements accompanied by sufficient humour. His historical stories are more colourful, with longer sentencing and richer vocabulary.
His fascination for history is developed in several books where information is woven into the storyline.
He also translated books from French, German and English into Dutch, while his own work has in turn been translated into several languages for which he received international acclaim.
His overwhelming desire was to inspire a passion for reading into young readers via his stories, books and poems.