Although there has always been a fascination for famous people, the invention of modern celebrity culture goes back to the nineteenth century. During Romanticism the position of the author changed, but, with the phenomenon of the fan and associated fandom coming into existence, also that of the public.

In "Star Authors in the Age of Romanticism" Dutch literary celebrity culture is analysed and embedded in the international discourse on this subject. This book supplies the Dutch dynamic to th...

In 1594, the first Dutch ships sailes to 'the East'. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost five thousand ships were sent to the Dutch East Indies, attracting a growing number of travellers, with trade as one of the major incentives. In addition to Dutch missionary ambitions, progress and technological innovations not only fed the growing hunger for expansion, but also stirred an appetite for adventure. The hope for a life in welfare is mirrored in the growing numbers of ...