In his triple capacity of art critic, philologist, and poet, Alberdingk Thijm was an important figure of Catholic literature.

He made his entry into the literary world as an art critic in the Spectator in 1842, and immediately attracted attention by his views and his style.

This he himself declares in his celebrated poem "U min ik, Oude met uw stroefgeplooide trekken" (I love you, old one, with your rugged features).

Besides the periodical "Dietsche Warande" which he edited from 1855 to 1886, the people's almanac for the Catholics of the Netherlands (1852–89), and numberless brochures in defence of the Church and church history, his most important works are: "Het Voorgeborchte", "Palet en Harp", "Portretten van Joost van den Vondel", "Verspreide Verhalen", "Kerstliederen", "De la Litérature Néerlandaise", "Karolingische Verhalen", "De Heilige Linie".

His last efforts were devoted to the preparation of a complete edition of the works of Joost van den Vondel.