Literally, "Fate."

A novel of estrangement and jealousy in marriage. Bertie, the friend, and Eve, the wife of Frank, are in turn envious of each other over Frank's affections. Bertie hides Eve's letters, causing the Frank to believe she no longer loves him; when Frank discovers this, he kills Bertie and is imprisoned. After his release, the married couple commit suicide.

Gerrit Jäger produced a play version of the novel, which was performed in 1892 by the Rotterdam theatre company; Willem Royaards, an acquaintance of Couperus, played one of the main roles.

Editions

• De Gids (1890) first publication.
• Amsterdam: L. J. Veen (1891) first book edition.
• London : Heinemann (1891) 272pp. English tr. Clara Bell as Footsteps of Fate.
• New York : Appleton (1892) 272pp. English tr. Clara Bell as Footsteps of Fate with introduction by Edmund Gosse. Cover and title page seen at Elysium Press.
• Stuttgart : Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt (1892) German tr. Paul Raché as Schicksal.
• Stockholm : C. and E. Gernardts (1899) Swedish tr. Gustaf Uddgren as Under Vänskapens ok.
• Budapest : Singer és Wolfner (1899) Hungarian tr. Paul Raché as Végzet.