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Going Dutch
How England Plundered Holland's Glory

Synopsis:

A fascinating exploration of the relationship of competition and assimilation between England and the Netherlands during the 17th century, revealing how Dutch tolerance, resilience and commercial acumen effectively conquered England by permanently reshaping the intellectual landscape long before Dutch monarchs sat on the English throne. Working backwards from the bloodless revolution that set William and Mary of Orange on the English throne in 1688, this bold and ambitious work redefines the history of cultural and commercial interconnection between two of the world's most powerful trading empires at a time of great intellectual and geographical discovery. Weaving together the lives of the great thinkers of the time, Jardine demonstrates how individuals such as Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Christiaan Huygens and Margaret Cavendish, usually depicted as instances of isolated genius, in fact evolved within a context of easy Anglo-Dutch exchange that laid the groundwork for the European Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. This fascinating history of big ideas and remarkable individuals denounces the traditional view that the rise of England as a world power took place at the expense of the Dutch, asserting instead that what is usually interpreted as the decline of the Dutch trading empire was in fact a 'passing on' of the baton to an England expanding in power and influence. In so doing, Jardine not only challenges traditional interpretations of the role of the British Empire in Enlightenment Europe, but also raises probing questions about the position in which post-Empire Britain finds itself today.

Reviews:

'At the heart of Lisa Jardine's beautifully written and illustrated new book is a wonderfully vivid and richly layered account of 17th-century cultural interactions between England and the Dutch.' Times Higher Education 'In Lisa Jardine's stimulating survey of Anglo-Dutch cross-currents, the events of 1688, which put William, 'Stadtholder' of the Dutch Republic, on the English throne along with his wife Mary, are ultimately seen less as an invasion, and more as a merger of two societies with a great deal in common.' Waterstones Books Quarterly '[A] meticulous study...the essential point of the book...lies in its perception of a larger culture that joined Holland and England. They were united both in theory and in practice across a whole range of pursuits...It is a remarkable phase of 17th century culture that has generally been overlooked. In 'Going Dutch' it is brought back to life.' The Times 'An exciting vision and the way Jardine describes these 'circuits of transmission' makes one long to have been alive in the 17th century...[a] stimulating book [which] generates a long list of new questions.' Daily Telegraph 'Jardine remarks that her book has merely 'scratched the surface' of her chosen subject. This is unduly modest: in fact, it digs far deeper and unearths far more...than this recusatio would suggest. That there is more yet to be uncovered is not a criticism of this book, but a testimony to the extraordinary breadth, richness and complexity of the terrain its author has mapped out and made her own.' Literary Review 'Jardine has numerous beautifully researched tales to tell about the cultural exchanges which Hugyens facilitated...this fascinating study will and should inspire further research into our Dutch heritage.' Dianne Purkiss, The Independent

Author Biography:

Lisa Jardine CBE is Director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters, and Centenary Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, University of London. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and an Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge and Jesus College, Cambridge. She writes and reviews for all the major UK national newspapers and magazines and for the 'Washington Post', and has presented and appears regularly on arts, history and current affairs programmes for TV and radio. She is a regular writer and presenter of 'A Point of View', on BBC Radio 4. She judged many important literary prizes including the 2000 Orwell Prize and the 2002 Man Booker Prize. She is the author of a number of best-selling general books, including 'Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance', 'Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution', and biographies of Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. She is married to the architect John Hare and has three children.

Additional Information:

Illustrations: 80 b/w illus, 40 col plates (16pp) Related subjects: Great Britain - Foreign relations - Netherlands Netherlands - Foreign relations - Great Britain Great Britain - Civilization - Dutch influences Great Britain - Social life and customs - 17th century Great Britain - Civilization - 17th century Great Britain - History - William and Mary, 1689-1702 Buitenlandse betrekkingen Culturele betrekkingen Nederland Verenigd Koninkrijk van Groot-Brittanni'e en Noord-Ierland European history: c 1500 to c 1750