Eighty-five-year-old Hendrik Groen is fed up to his false teeth with coffee mornings and bingo.
__________

Along with fellow members of the Old-But-Not-Dead Club, he embarks on a wild spree of octogenarian anarchy. But the home's director will not stand for any more drunken bar crawls, illicit fireworks or geriatric romance. The good name of the care home will not be disgraced.

But when Hendrik learns of a plan to close the home down he realises life outside it could be much worse. He and the gang must stop the closure before it's too late. Or drop dead trying . . .
__________

'A joy to read. An entertaining and uplifting story of a man in the winter of his days' John Boyne, Irish Times

'Highly entertaining, utterly convincing. A delightful and touching saga of one man's way of coping with old age'Daily Express

'Terrific. This geriatric Adrian Mole made me laugh' Fanny Blake, Woman and Home

'A funny but also touching diary praised for its wit and realism' BBC Radio 4 Front Row

Review
I laughed until I cried and then laughed and cried some more (David Suchet)

Thoughtful, anxious and gruff... Laced with humour (Best New Fiction Mail on Sunday)

Full of off-beat charm and quirky characters (Cathy Rentzenbrink Stylist)

A story with a great deal of heart, it pulled me in with its self-deprecating humour, finely drawn characters and important themes. Anyone who hopes to grow old with dignity will have much to reflect on (Graeme Simsion)

Amusing [and] wickedly accurate ... I was constantly put in mind of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, another comi-tragedy concerning the tyranny of institutions of the unwanted. Enjoy Groen's light touch but do not be fooled by it. We live in an ageing society. The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen is a handbook of resistance for our time (***** FIVE STARS Sunday Express)

There are many laughs in this book but it's so much more than just a comedy. It's a story about how friendship, selflessness and dignity lie at the heart of the human experience. When I'm an old man, I want to be Hendrik Groen (John Boyne)

Highly entertaining ... a delightful and touching saga of one man's way of coping with old age ... we may assume that Hendrik Groen is a character of fiction. But it is a fiction so closely based on the observation of real life that it is utterly convincing (Daily Express)

A joy to read, as much concerned with friendship and dignity as it is with the debilitating effects of aging ... An entertaining and uplifting story of a man in the winter of his days, stoic in the face of bureaucratic nonsense and an unabashed need to wear a nappy. Imagined or not, this is the diary of someone who wants nothing more than to be allowed see out his days with dignity and respect. It's not too much to ask, really, is it? (John Boyne Irish Times)

Praise for The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old (-)

Very funny (Jeremy Paxman Financial Times)

Hendrik Groen, pseudonym of Peter de Smet, is a Dutch writer. He is the author of the book Pogingen iets van het leven te maken: Het geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen, 83¼ jaar (The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old) published in 2014. That book was awarded in 2016 with the Audience Award for the Dutch Book. The sequel Zolang er leven is: het tweede geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen, 85 jaar (On the Bright Side: The New Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen) appeared in 2016.

For years it was unknown who was hiding behind the pseudonym. This led to speculation about who it could be. Names from Sylvia Witteman to Arnon Grunberg were mentioned. Both De Volkskrant and NRC Handelsblad revealed almost simultaneously in 2016 that Peter de Smet was 62-year-old. De Smet responded with the words that 'he is not waiting for publicity' and 'has no sense in the fuss about fame'.

Attempts to make something of life in 2016 won the Audience Award for the Dutch Book. This prize was not personally collected by the author.

In 2017, the books were filmed and broadcasted by Omroep MAX as the television series Hendrik Groen's Secret Diary. Screenwriter Martin van Waardenberg once again confirmed that De Smet was the man behind the pseudonym. In 2017, a stage adaptation was also brought to the stage under the direction of Gijs de Lange. Beau Schneider played the role of Hendrik Groen