Overview

The United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815-1830) was a creation of the Congress of Vienna, where the map of Europe was redrawn following Napoleon’s defeat. Dutch language and literature were considered the essential tools to smoothly fuse the North and South – today, the Netherlands and Belgium respectively. King Willem I tried a variety of measures to stimulate and control literary life in the South, in an effort to encourage unity throughout his kingdom. Janneke Weijermars describes the driving force of this policy and especially its impact in the South. For some authors, Northern Dutch literature represented the standard to which they aspired. For others, unification triggered a desire to assert their own cultural identity. The quarrels, mutual misunderstandings and subsequent polemics were closely intertwined with political issues of the day. Stepbrothers views the history of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands through a literary lens.

Full Product Details

9789004282421

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Dr. Janneke Weijermars (1977) teaches Modern Dutch Literature at the University of Groningen. She gained her PhD at the University of Antwerp in 2012. She has published monographs, articles and edited volumes about nineteenth- and twentieth-century Dutch literature and book history.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available