Louis Marie-Anne Couperus was born on 10 June 1863 at Mauritskade 11 in The Hague, Netherlands.
He was the eleventh and youngest child of John Ricus Couperus (1816–1902) and Catharina Geertruida Reynst (1829–1893).
Four of the ten siblings had died before Louis was born.
Couperus was baptized on 19 July 1863 in the Eglise wallonne in The Hague.
When Louis reached the age of five, his youngest sister, Trudy, was twelve years old and his youngest brother, Frans, eleven.
In The Hague he followed lessons at the boarding school of Mr. Wyers, where he first met his later friend Henri van Booven.
On 6 November 1872 the Couperus family left home, travelled by train to Den Helder and embarked on the steamboat Prins Hendrik, which would bring them to the Dutch East Indies.
They arrived on 31 December 1872 in Batavia, where they spent the night at the then famous Hotel des Indes.
The family settled in a house in Batavia, located on the Koningsplein and the mother of Couperus and his brother Frans (who was suffering from peritonitis) returned to the Netherlands in December 1873; his mother returned to the Dutch East Indies in April 1874.
So Couperus spent part of his youth (1873–1878) in the Dutch East Indies, going to school in Batavia.

Here he met his cousin, Elisabeth Couperus-Baud, for the first time.
In his novel De zwaluwen neergestreken (The swallows flew down), he wrote about his youth:
"We are cousins and have played together.
We danced together at children's balls.
We still have our baby pictures.
She was dressed in a marquise dress and I was dressed as a page.
My garment was made of black velvet and I was very proud of my first travesti."

In the Dutch East Indies, Couperus also met his future brother-in-law for the first time, Gerard de la Valette (a writer and official at the Dutch Indian Government who would marry his sister Trudy), who wrote in 1913 about his relationship with Couperus:
We met first at Batavia, when he was a boy of ten years and I was a young man.
We saw each other at rather large intervals.
Yet I saw him often enough, as a boy and a young man, that we developed a good and familiar relationship.

After he finished primary school, Couperus attended the Gymnasium Willem III in Batavia.
In the summer of 1878 Couperus and his family returned to the Netherlands, where they went to live in a house at the Nassaukade (plein) 4.
In The Hague Couperus was sent to the H.B.S. school; during this period of his life, he spent a lot of time at the Vlielander-Hein family (his sister was married to Benjamin Marius Vlielander Hein); later their son, François Emile Vlielander Hein (1882–1919), was his favourite nephew, who helped him with his literary work.
At the HBS Couperus met his later friend Frans Netscher; during this period of his life, he read the novels written by Émile Zola and Ouida (the latter he would meet in Florence, years later).
When Couperus' school results did not improve, his father send him to a school where he was trained to be a teacher in the Dutch language.
In 1883 he attended the opera written by Charles Gounod Le tribut de Zamora; he later used elements of this opera in his novel Eline Vere.
Louis Marie-Anne Couperus was born on 10 June 1863 at Mauritskade 11 in The Hague, Netherlands. He was the eleventh and youngest child of John Ricus Couperus (1816–1902) and Catharina Geertruida Reynst (1829–1893). Four of the ten siblings had died before Louis was born. Couperus was baptized on 19 July 1863 in the Eglise wallonne in The Hague. When Louis reached the age of five, his youngest sister, Trudy, was twelve years old and his youngest brother, Frans, eleven. In The Hague he followed lessons at the boarding school of Mr. Wyers, where he first met his later friend Henri van Booven. On 6 November 1872 the Couperus family left home, travelled by train to Den Helder and embarked on the steamboat Prins Hendrik, which would bring them to the Dutch East Indies. They arrived on 31 December 1872 in Batavia, where they spent the night at the then famous Hotel des Indes. The family settled in a house in Batavia, located on the Koningsplein and the mother of Couperus and his brother Frans (who was suffering from peritonitis) returned to the Netherlands in December 1873; his mother returned to the Dutch East Indies in April 1874. So Couperus spent part of his youth (1873–1878) in the Dutch East Indies, going to school in Batavia.
Here he met his cousin, Elisabeth Couperus-Baud, for the first time. In his novel De zwaluwen neergestreken (The swallows flew down), he wrote about his youth:
"We are cousins and have played together. We danced together at children's balls. We still have our baby pictures. She was dressed in a marquise dress and I was dressed as a page. My garment was made of black velvet and I was very proud of my first travesti."
In the Dutch East Indies, Couperus also met his future brother-in-law for the first time, Gerard de la Valette (a writer and official at the Dutch Indian Government who would marry his sister Trudy), who wrote in 1913 about his relationship with Couperus:
We met first at Batavia, when he was a boy of ten years and I was a young man. We saw each other at rather large intervals. Yet I saw him often enough, as a boy and a young man, that we developed a good and familiar relationship.
After he finished primary school, Couperus attended the Gymnasium Willem III in Batavia. In the summer of 1878 Couperus and his family returned to the Netherlands, where they went to live in a house at the Nassaukade (plein) 4. In The Hague Couperus was sent to the H.B.S. school; during this period of his life, he spent a lot of time at the Vlielander-Hein family (his sister was married to Benjamin Marius Vlielander Hein); later their son, François Emile Vlielander Hein (1882–1919), was his favourite nephew, who helped him with his literary work. At the HBS Couperus met his later friend Frans Netscher; during this period of his life, he read the novels written by Émile Zola and Ouida (the latter he would meet in Florence, years later). When Couperus' school results did not improve, his father send him to a school where he was trained to be a teacher in the Dutch language. In 1883 he attended the opera written by Charles Gounod Le tribut de Zamora; he later used elements of this opera in his novel Eline Vere.
Louis Couperus