In her latest book, the issues mentioned above become a source of contemplation of the protagonist, Elias. He teaches at a university in the United States and is fascinated by the recovery of stolen art. When he is approached by a somewhat Trumpian businessman and his charming wife about recovering a lost masterpiece, he accepts, after some hesitation. What follows is a thrilling ride with some unavoidable risks. It’s a real page turner.

How much of Britta do we see in Elias? “I guess I'm more cynical,” she laughs. “But the ethical struggles he goes through, there’s some of me and other colleagues in that.” (Small spoiler alert!) Her interest in the grey area between real and fake can be seen throughout the book. While falsehoods have no place in the courtroom and fake news regularly leaves the fourth estate reeling, at other times it can actually make for interesting discussions. She gives an example: “What if a fake turns out well? One of the characters gets into the country with forged identity papers. And who cares if a wealthy Arab prince buys a fake Van Gogh? I find real and fake in the art world particularly fascinating.”

‘The law is biased’

The novel regularly comments on the law. “One of the characters finds the law biased—made by white men, resulting in discrimination against women and minorities. I wrote that down without much hesitation because I strongly agree with it.” In addition to criminal law and international human rights treaties, Britta specialises in women's rights. “I do see that equality between men and women is improving but, in my opinion, this is happening too slowly. Within the law, we may have gotten the big picture right, but now society itself has to change. We’re quick to think that gender equality is already a reality. There is even talk of post-feminism. However, we still need to break free from the patriarchal structures that we are faced with on a daily basis. I too, unfortunately, used to be part of that by always adapting to the system, because I wanted to achieve something and make a difference in my work. But when you hear that the Prime Minister is quicker to interrupt female ministers and does so more often than male colleagues, then we are not there yet. Yes, childcare is better regulated by law in the Netherlands, but the motivation is ‘so that women can also work’. That is downright sexist. Childcare ensures that parents can work.”

Those who think that the position of women is fortunately on the rise should think again, says Britta. “You always have a backlash. And it didn't just start when Trump became president. He obviously didn't make it better, but it was going on much earlier. As far as I'm concerned, it started in the early 1990s. A key moment was when, in 1991, Clarence Thomas was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, despite allegations of sexual harassment from professor Anita Hill. Then, you see the same thing happen in 2018 with the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh."

By: Karin Somers (text) Casey O'Dell (translation) and Jonathan Vos (photography).