Working as a teacher, Margo Antink wrote various short stories for periodicals, and published her first novel in 1899. After marrying the poet and critic Carel Scharten, they began to write novels together. Their first success came in 1908 with Een huis vol menschen. The couple became fairly popular with their novels, which had many religious and Italian influences. This was also true for the work De nar van Maremmen (The fool of Maremma), which they entered in the 1928 Olympic literature competition and which won a bronze medal. The Maremma is a swampy and unhealthy coastal landscape of Italy in southern Tuscany. In their book they describe in three parts (Massano – Florence. De drie blinden - Naar de eeuwige stad_) the story of a painter, inspired by the life and work of Giovanni Fattori (1825-1908) and the socialist movement in Italy until the 1920s. It only deals with sports remotely. Scharten-Antink and her husbaned had settled in Florence in 1924 and remained there until their death.
Netherlands