She was married to Dirk Hendrik Beckmann (double n in his last name). She had two sons and a daughter. She died in her house in Bunnik at age 80.
Most of her books have a historical background, requiring her to do a lot of reading. She has romanticized part of history, allowing her to write exciting and adventurous novels for children and teenagers.
The following is a list of her best known novels:
- ''Met Korilu de Griemel rond'' (Around the Greemel with Korilu, 1970) (Later renamed to ''Zwerftocht met Korilu'' - Wandering with Korilu; Zilveren Griffel 1971)
- ''Kruistocht in spijkerbroek'' ( Crusade In Jeans ; 1973; Gouden Griffel 1974; European award for best historical youth novel 1974) - about the Children's Crusade of 1212
- ''Mijn vader woont in Brazilië'' (My father lives in Brazil, 1974)
- The trilogy ''Geef me de ruimte'' (Give me space) - about the Hundred Years War between England and France
- ---''Geef me de ruimte'' (Give me space, 1976),
- ---''Triomf van de verschroeide aarde'' (Triumph of scorched earth, 1977)
- ---''Het rad van fortuin'' (Wheel of fortune, 1978)
- ''Stad in de storm'' (City in the Storm, 1979; Zilveren Griffel 1980) - about Utrecht in the Year of Disaster 1672
- ''Wij zijn wegwerpkinderen'' (We are throw-away kids, 1980)
- '' De Gouden Dolk '' (The golden dagger, 1982) - about the Second Crusade , 1147-1149
- ''Hasse Simonsdochter'' (1983) - about Jan Van Schaffelaar 's wife
- '' Wonderkinderen '' (wonder children, 1984) about two especially gifted children
- The trilogy '' Kinderen Van Moeder Aarde '' (Children of Mother Earth) a futuristic novel set ten centuries after World War III, describing the struggle between utopian Thule (Greenland, after a climate change made it prosperous) and Baden (militaristic European nation)
- ---'' Kinderen Van Moeder Aarde '' (1985),
- ---'' Het Helse Paradijs '' (Hellish Paradise, 1987)
- ---'' Het Gulden Vlies Van Thule '' (The Golden Fleece of Thule, 1989)
- ''De val van de Vredeborch'' (Fall of the Freeburgh, 1988)
- ''Een bos vol spoken'' (A forest full of ghosts, 1988)
- ''Het wonder van Frieswijck'' (The miracle of Frieswijck, 1991)
- ''De stomme van Kampen'' (The Mute of Kampen, 1992) - about the mute painter Hendrick Avercamp
- ''De doge-ring van Venetië'' (The Doge-ring of Venice, 1994) - about a trip to Venice to obtain an important relic for an abbey.
- ''Saartje Tadema'' (1996) - about an orphan girl in the Amsterdam orphanage
- ''Vrijgevochten'' (Fought free, 1998) - about a sailor boy who is captured as a slave
- ''Gekaapt!'' (Hijacked!, 2003)
After her death, the Historisch Nieuwsblad (historical newspaper) renamed the Bontekoe -award (a price for the best historical youth book, established in 2003) to the Thea Beckman award.
In 2004 , this was awarded to Benny Lindelauf for his book ''Negen open armen'' (nine open arms). In 2005 , it was given to Belgian authors Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem and Pat Beirs for the novel ''Jonkvrouw''.
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