Playwright and journalist, born in Rotterdam, W Netherlands. As a journalist, he wrote prose sketches under the pseudonym Samuel Falkland from 1894 until 1911, and also wrote novels. His true love was drama, and after living for many years in Berlin, in 1912 he returned to the Netherlands and became director of a drama society, hoping to revive Dutch drama. A passionate socialist, his work shows his great social concern. He wrote over 30 plays, his biggest success being Op hoop van zegen (1900, The Good Hope), which was also a huge international success. It was staged in Berlin, Paris, London, Moscow and many other places.
Heijermans grew up in a liberal Jewish family as the fifth of 11 children of Herman Heijermans Sr. He created great interest by his play Op Hoop van Zegen (1900), represented at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris, and in English by the Stage Society as The Good Hope.
His other plays are: Dora Kremer (1893), Ghetto (1898), Het zevende Gebod (1899), Het Pantser (1901), Ora et labora (1901), and numerous one-act pieces. A Case of Arson, an English version of the one-act play Brand in de Jonge Jan, was notable for the impersonation (1904 and 1905) by Henri de Vries of all the seven witnesses who appear as characters.
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