Elly van Wijmen was born on June 26, 1927 in East Java. Before the Indies were occupied by Japan, the family left for the Netherlands. She later emigrated with her first husband to Australia, where she practiced the profession of beautician. After a number of years she returned to the Netherlands, but not for long, because in 1971 she settled in Ethiopia. Here she experienced a revolution, a war of secession (Eritrea) and a border war (Somalia). In Ethiopia she divorced her first husband and remarried an Ethiopian man. In 1979 she returned to the Netherlands.
Book: Een truck in de mist.
Her book: Een truck in de mist, was published by Ploegsma in Amsterdam in 1970. The book is an adventure story about a boy who travels with his father, a truck driver, across Australia and encounters various dangers and mysteries. It gives a picture of the life and problems of the sheep breeder in Australia.The book is illustrated by Fiel van der Veen.
Jimmy sets out on horseback alone for the first time into the Australian wilderness. Only then can you show what you are worth. On one of their trips, Jimmy and his friend see the tracks leading to a cave. There they discover what the inhabitants of a settlement have kept so secretive.
Her books are all about adventure. Her main characters end up in dangerous situations or solve crimes; chance plays an important role in her stories, as do mysterious messengers, mistaken identity and very recognizable (stereotypical) crooks. In addition, her books also contain a lot of factual information.
In almost all her books, boys or men are the main characters, girls and women only play a marginal role. In an interview, Elly van Wijmen stated that she finds it easier to write about boys than about girls, she has the feeling that she feels boys better. For example, she is very interested in the friendship between boys.
