Author Guide · Literary Nonfiction
Books Written by
Chris De Stoop's first book, about the trafficking of women into Belgium, led to a parliamentary inquiry. Twenty years later he wrote about the polder farm he grew up on, which the government was turning back into marshland to make up for the growth of the port of Antwerp. Then his uncle Daniel's farmhouse burned down with the old man inside, a gang of local teenagers was arrested, and De Stoop stood up in court to plead for the family. This guide covers all eleven of his books in order, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 11 books · Literary nonfiction · 1992–2022 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Chris De Stoop has published eleven books since 1992, all in Dutch: investigations into trafficking, deportation, drugs and jihadism, and, from De Bres (2000) onwards, increasingly personal books about the polder villages near Antwerp where he grew up. Dit is mijn hof (2015) became his best-seller; Het boek Daniel (2020) brought him into a courtroom as a party to the case. Which one to start with depends on whether you want the investigator or the man from the polder.
Where to Start with Chris De Stoop
If you want the famous one
→ Dit is mijn hof (2015).
If you want true crime from the inside
→ Het boek Daniel (2020).
If you want the investigator
→ Ze zijn zo lief, meneer (1992).
If you want the most recent
→ Hemelrijk (2022).
All 11 Chris De Stoop Books, in Order
Ze zijn zo lief, meneer
The first inside account of the trade in women brought to Belgium for prostitution, from the recruiters abroad to the bars and the men who profited. It caused an uproar in Belgium and led to a parliamentary commission of inquiry.
Haal de was maar binnen
The deportation of undocumented migrants from Europe, told through the story of one woman, Aziza, and the forced expulsions across Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Ik ben makelaar in hasj
The hashish trade seen through the people who run it, from the middlemen to the smugglers.
De Bres
De Stoop went to live for a year in Doel, the village near Antwerp being emptied for the expansion of the port, and wrote about the people staying behind and the community falling apart around them.
Zij kwamen uit het Oosten
The sequel to his first book, written as a narrative: young women brought from Eastern Europe into the sex trade in Belgium.
Het complot van België
A young woman arrives with boxes of documents about Belgium's role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, where De Stoop had reported at the time; the story leads him also to his uncle André, subjected to brutal psychiatric treatment in 1950s Belgium. It was nominated for the AKO Literatuurprijs.
Vrede zij met u, zuster
The story of a young Belgian woman who converted to Islam and became the first Western woman to blow herself up as a suicide bomber in Iraq, and of the first jihadists to leave Belgium for the Middle East.
Dit is mijn hof
After his brother's death, De Stoop goes back to work the family's land in the polder near the Dutch border, as the fields around it are flooded to create nature reserves in compensation for the port of Antwerp. It became his best-seller and was sold for translation into German and Chinese.
Wanneer het water breekt
A story from the polder about refugees, and about what happens when the outside world arrives in the flat, quiet country De Stoop has written about all his life.
Het boek Daniel
His elderly uncle Daniel, a farmer living alone, died when his farmhouse was set on fire; a gang of teenagers from the same village was arrested. De Stoop pleaded on behalf of the family at the trial and afterwards went to meet the young men who had killed him. It is being adapted as a television series by Jan Verheyen.
Hemelrijk
A Flemish care home where a visit from Saint Nicholas was followed by a devastating outbreak of Covid, told through Guido, a family caregiver wrongly blamed for spreading the virus, and set against De Stoop's own years of caring for his mother.
How Many Books Did Chris De Stoop Write?
Eleven books between 1992 and 2022, all of them written in Dutch.
- Investigations — from Ze zijn zo lief, meneer (1992) to Ik ben makelaar in hasj (1998). Read the entries →
- The polder books — De Bres (2000), Dit is mijn hof (2015), Wanneer het water breekt (2018) and Het boek Daniel (2020). Read the entries →
- Narrative investigations — Zij kwamen uit het Oosten, Het complot van België, Vrede zij met u, zuster and Hemelrijk. Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Chris De Stoop
His books are not a series, but the polder books read best in order: De Bres (2000) is the first look at the disappearing villages, and Dit is mijn hof (2015) goes back fifteen years later to his own family's farm.
A reading path
1. Dit is mijn hof (2015)
2. Het boek Daniel (2020)
3. De Bres (2000)
4. Ze zijn zo lief, meneer (1992)
5. Hemelrijk (2022)
Quick facts about Chris De Stoop
- Born
- 1958, Sint-Gillis-Waas, Belgium
- Studied
- Germanic philology, University of Leuven
- Works for
- Knack, the Flemish weekly, as an investigative journalist
- Lived in
- Doel, the village being cleared for the port of Antwerp, from 1999
- Prizes
- Gouden Uil Publieksprijs (2004); Confituur Boekhandelsprijs and Zeeuwse Boekenprijs (2016)
- Nominated
- AKO Literatuurprijs (2008), for Het complot van België
- Language
- All his books are written in Dutch
- Publisher
- De Bezige Bij
How Chris De Stoop Writes: From the Dossier to the Farm
De Stoop began as an investigative journalist at Knack, and his early books are built from that work: long investigations into trafficking, deportation and drugs, told through the people caught up in them rather than through statistics.
From De Bres onwards he moved closer to home and into the first person. In the polder books he is a participant, the son of a farming family watching the land disappear, and in Het boek Daniel he is a party to the court case he describes.
Frequently asked questions about Chris De Stoop's books
How many books has Chris De Stoop written?
Chris De Stoop has published eleven books, from Ze zijn zo lief, meneer (1992) to Hemelrijk (2022). All of them are written in Dutch.
What is Dit is mijn hof about?
Dit is mijn hof (2015) is about the family farm in the polder near Antwerp where De Stoop grew up, and the fields around it that were flooded to make new nature reserves in compensation for the expansion of the port. It won the Confituur Boekhandelsprijs and the Zeeuwse Boekenprijs.
What is Het boek Daniel about?
Het boek Daniel (2020) tells the true story of the killing of De Stoop's elderly uncle, whose farmhouse was set on fire, and of the teenagers from his village who were convicted. De Stoop pleaded for the family at the trial and later met the young men.
Are Chris De Stoop's books available in English?
Not as full English editions so far. Rights to Dit is mijn hof have been sold for German and Chinese translations, and his publisher presents it in English as This Is My Farm.
Footnotes
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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