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WORK TITLE: Daughter of Doom
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WEBSITE: https://jeanclaudevanrijckeghem.com/about/
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NATIONALITY: Belgian
LAST VOLUME: SATA 392
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1963.
EDUCATION:Holds a master’s degree (languages).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and producer.
AWARDS:Cannes Critics’ Week screenplay award, 2008, for Moscow, Belgium.
WRITINGS
Also author of books and screenplays, including Moscow, Belgium, published in Belgium and the Netherlands.
SIDELIGHTS
Belgian author and producer Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem writes historical novels for young-adults in addition to writing screenplays for films. His young-adult novels include Ironhead, or, Once a Young Lady and With a Sword in My Hand, cowritten with Pat van Biers. He is also the author of the World War II-era graphic novel The Lions of Leningrad. Van Rijckeghem discussed what draws him to writing historical novels in a Foreword Reviews interview with Danielle Ballantyne: “One of the pleasures of writing a historical novel is the first stage: the discovery of times past. It’s like a journey to an exotic place that you have heard stories about but don’t quite know. And when I travel there, mostly in my mind … the past unlocks some of its mysteries. At some point I get so enthusiastic that I want to tell a story set in the world I am discovering.”
Van Rijckeghem sets Ironhead, or, Once a Young Lady in Belgium in 1808 and features Constance, a young woman who faces limitations because of her gender. Constance is forced to get married when she turns eighteen, and in an effort to flee her miserable situation, she assumes a male neighbor’s identity and joins Napoleon’s Fourteenth Regiment. While Constance enjoys her freedom and the thrill of battle, her brother Pieter is searching for her at the behest of her husband and parents who want her back home. Constance is forced to face a duel, and though she is shot in the head, she survives and ultimately gains her freedom and independence.
Booklist critic Molly Horan appreciated that the story is told from the perspectives of Constance and Pieter, showcasing the different treatments of men and woman during the time period. “A perfect choice for fans of adventure tales with a prominent feminist streak,” remarked Horan. A critic in Kirkus Reviews found Ironhead, or, Once a Young Lady to be “vivid and brutal—but not without a sliver of hope.” Calling the book “intriguing,” School Library Journal writer Susan Catlett noted the “subtext of gender and sexual fluidity.” Overall, Catlett recommended the book for high-school readers.
Van Rijckeghem turned to the graphic novel format with The Lions of Leningrad, illustrated by Thomas Du Caju. Four teenagers from the Soviet Union flee a Nazi air attack during World War II and find themselves behind enemy lines. During their escape they kill some enemy Nazis, earning them the title “Lions of Leningrad.” With challenges looming, their friendship and lives are at stake under Stalin’s rule. A writer in Publishers Weekly dubbed The Lions of Leningrad a “well-crafted military thriller.” The graphic novel “should satisfy military buffs, and promises teen crossover appeal,” predicted the same critic. Describing the characters as “engaging,” Foreword Reviews writer Peter Dabbene opined that “The Lions of Leningrad captures a critical time during World War II with dramatic flair.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, January 1, 2022, Molly Horan, review of Ironhead, or, Once a Young Lady, p. 70.
Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2021, review of Ironhead, or, Once a Young Lady.
Publishers Weekly, January 3, 2022, review of The Lions of Leningrad, p. 29.
School Library Journal, April 4, 2022, Susan Catlett, review of Ironhead, or, Once a Young Lady, p. 149.
ONLINE
Flanders Literature, https://www.flandersliterature.be/ (November 3, 2022), author profile.
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com/ (February 15, 2022), Danielle Ballantyne, author interview; (March-April, 2022), Peter Dabbene, review of The Lions of Leningrad.*
Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem
Hi! I’m a writer of young adult novels, screenplays and comic books. I write in my native Dutch and, occasionally, a work of mine, like Ironhead, or, once a Young Lady or Daughter of Doom, finds its way to English-language readers
On this site, I focus on my historical novels for young adults. IRONHEAD, OR, ONCE A YOUNG LADY and DAUGHTER OF DOOM were translated by Kristen Gehrman and published by Levine Querido. Both novels have also been translated into Italian by Olga Amagliana as TESTA DI FERRO and FIGLIA DEL DESTINO. Both have been published by Camelozampa. My latest novel, PROPERZIA, will be published in Dutch in October 2025.
I have one other historical novel translated in English as WITH A SWORD IN MY HAND or A SWORD IN HER HAND (co-written by Pat van Beirs, translated by John Nieuwenhuizen), which takes place in the 14th century. It is out of print now but you can still find second-hand copies or you can check your local library. The novel was also published in French, German, Danish, Norse, Chinese, Czech and Afrikaans. GALLOWS MAIDEN has been translated into French, Afrikaans and German, translated by Mirjam Pressler. It is an adventurous story of spies, cut-purses and noblemen that takes place in the 16th century.
I write comic book scenario’s for artist Thomas Du Caju. These comics are published in Dutch and French. One of them has also been published in English as THE LIONS OF LENINGRAD, in Spanish as Los ratones de Leningrado and in Danish as Leningrads Helte. The French version is Les Souris de Leningrad. We also collaborated on Little England which was also published, in serial form, in Italian. Thomas and I are currently collaborating on SABOTEUSES, set in the second world war on British/French female agents who were dropped in France during WW 2. Four installments of this six part series have been published.
I grew up in Ghent, Belgium and have a master in translation (French/English). I wrote or co-wrote (and often produced) a number of feature films over the years. They’re all spoken in Dutch but some are available with English subtitles. Here are some of the titles with links to trailers: RETRO THERAPY (2024), SEA SPARKLE (2023) MY DAD IS A SAUSAGE (2021), THE BEST OF DORIEN B. (2019), ZAGROS (2017) VINCENT AND THE END OF THE WORLD (2016), TROUW MET MIJ (2014), OXYGEN (2010), MOSCOW, BELGIUM (2008) and CRUSADE IN JEANS (2004) . I also wrote two mini-series with Pierre De Clercq: AMIGO’S (2015) and A GOOD YEAR (2020).
If you want so write me about my work, you can send me an email.
Daughter of Doom Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem, trans, from the Dutch by Kristen Gehrman. Levine Querido, $19.99 (408p)
ISBN 978-1-64614-503-4
Two teens from different backgrounds become unlikely friends and allies in this engaging historical adventure set in 870 Denmark. Fifteen-year-old Yrsa--who was born with a crooked foot and walks with a limp and who recently uncovered a gift for prophecy--has only ever known her home of Mimir's Stool, in which she has been raised by her father, Toke the Helmsman, to fulfill her reluctant duty of marrying a wealthy man. Then her father returns from a raid with Sister Job, a teen nun claiming to be descended from Charlemagne, hoping to exchange Job for a massive ransom from her affluent family. While he awaits their response, Yrsa and Job bond, despite their religious and cultural differences. And when they're forced to kill the village captain's son in self-defense following an act of sexual violence, the girls flee the village, seeking safety from those pursuing vengeance. Van Rijckeghem {Ironhead, or Once a Young Lady) offers a sweeping, atmospheric story of faith and friendship set against a tumultuous world that juxtaposes the violence of Yrsa's peoples' Viking raiding parties with the perceived serenity of Job's station. Though the slow-burning tale features a large cast, it never loses sight of its two heroines and their steadfast bond. Ages 12-up. (June)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Daughter of Doom." Publishers Weekly, vol. 272, no. 12, 24 Mar. 2025, p. 71. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A833883140/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3f15bba5. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
van Rijckeghem, Jean-Claude DAUGHTER OF DOOM Levine Querido (Teen None) $19.99 6, 3 ISBN: 9781646145034
A Viking teen grapples with family, faith, and fate.
Fifteen-year-old Yrsa, daughter of a Danish helmsman and an enslaved Frisian woman who died in childbirth, defends herself well against her persecutors in the village of Mimir's Stool. Yrsa's parentage and crooked foot, however, blight her marriage prospects--until word spreads that Yrsa can see people's fates. She reluctantly accepts a duplicitous nobleman's proposal; she'd rather marry him than "be treated like a slave in her own village." But her plan is disrupted by the arrival of Sister Job, a young nun taken hostage from Ganda (present-day Ghent). After Job, with Yrsa's help, fatally wounds a villager who rapes her, the teens set sail to escape retribution, pursued by Yrsa's father and his crew. Amid subterfuge and battles, the girls' uneasy friendship deepens despite their frequent arguments about their religious differences. Will they survive? The third-person omniscient narration, translated from Dutch, at times feels disjointed and occasionally slows the pacing, and some secondary characters feel two-dimensional. However, readers interested in Viking times will appreciate the detailed descriptions of everyday customs--which included enslaving people of various cultures and ages--and the interwoven lore of Norse gods and goddesses. Yrsa and Job gradually learn to appreciate aspects of each other's beliefs, and readers who enjoy philosophical or theological discussions will find much to ponder.
Atmospheric and thought-provoking. (glossary)(Historical fiction. 13-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"van Rijckeghem, Jean-Claude: DAUGHTER OF DOOM." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A837325496/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e13f15e7. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.