Troubled pleasures: Dutch colonial literature from the East Indies, 1600-1950

Abstract

This is the first comprehensive examination of Dutch colonial literature in English. From the journals and travelogues produced by the early mariners, to the fictional recollections of repatriated colonials after the Second World War, E. M. Beekman's unique and magisterial survey of this major colonial literature places literary figures within specific epochs, provides biographical portraits, and examines works in relation not only to their own genres but also to the literatures and cultures beyond their colonial borders. Written by the leading authority in the field, this fascinating and wide-ranging study is enhanced by a consideration of the general political history of European expansion and of the Dutch East Indies. The large body of Dutch colonial literature is rich in variety, produced as it is by one of the major European colonial powers for more than three centuries. This book is intended for scholars, post- and undergraduate students of comparative literature; colonial studies; literature; Dutch history; history of South-East Asia; the culture of The Netherlands.