Mulisch was born in Haarlem and has lived for many years in Amsterdam.
A frequent theme in his work is the Second World War.
Mulisch gained international recognition with the film De Aanslag, (1986) which was based on his eponymous book. It received an Oscar for best foreign movie.
His novel De ontdekking van de Hemel (1992) was filmed in 2001 as The Discovery of Heaven.