Jan de Hartog was born on April 22, 1914, in Haarlem, the Netherlands. His father, Arnold Hendrik, was a minister and theology professor, and his mother, Lucretia (maiden name Meijjes), was a lecturer in medieval mysticism. De Hartog left home at the age of ten to work as a sailor on fishing boats, steamers and tugboats, becoming an adjunct inspector with the Amsterdam Harbor Police. He attended the Amsterdam Naval College from 1930 to 1931. From 1932 to 1937, he worked at the Amsterdam Municipal Theatre. During this period, de Hartog wrote a number of popular detective novels under the pseudonym F. R. Eckmar. From the late 1930s through the 1960s, de Hartog worked steadily as a successful playwright and novelist.

His 1940 novel Hollands Glorie was based on de Hartog's own experiences as a sailor, but it became a symbol of Dutch resistance against the Nazi occupation of World War II and...