Multatuli
Often recognised as the greatest nineteenth-century Dutch writer, Multatuli (Latin for ‘I have borne much’) was the pseudonym of Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887). In 1838 he went to the Dutch East Indies, where he joined the civil service.
Despite various disputes with his superiors, his outstanding abilities were soon recognized and he rose through the ranks, but he became increasingly repelled by the brutality of colonial rule and resigned. Years of poverty followed, during which he wandered Europe, struggling to support himself and championing the cause of the Javanese. Max Havelaar, his powerful indictment of colonialism, caused a sensation when it was published in 1860 and has been translated into over forty languages.
More Multatuli
Max Havelaar
Eduard Douwes Dekker wrote 'Max Havelaar or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company' as a condemnation of the abuses of the Dutch colonial administration in the Dutch East Indies.
Little Walter Pieterse
An imaginative boy growing up in a narrow-minded middle-class household, 'Little Walter Pieterse' is the first psychologically complex child protagonist in Dutch literature. The boy wants to meet the expectations of the people around him, but they make demands he can’t fulfil.