Occo
A vivid debut novel about Amsterdam's sixteenth-century elite
Occo is a historical novel about power, faith, art and transience, in which Amsterdam stands at the centre of a much larger European web of politics and passion. It follows the life and world of Pompeius Occo, an influential Amsterdam banker and patron of the arts in the early sixteenth century.
From his house in the Kalverstraat, known as Paradise, he builds a network of trade, art, religion and power that connects him to the European elite, above all the Fugger banking family of Augsburg, whom he represents in Amsterdam, and King Christian II of Denmark, his most important client.
Alongside this runs the story of the city itself, growing into an international centre of trade, where faith and money remain closely intertwined. The epilogue set in 1588 shows Occo's son Sybrandt in exile, after the city's Catholic elite has been driven out. The world his father helped build has vanished, and only stories, artworks and documents remain.
Daan Doesborgh (1988) is a writer, translator and podcaster. He reached the semi-finals of the 2011 World Poetry Slam. His translation of Ted Hughes' Crow (2020) was widely praised, and his poetry collection 'Moet het zo' (Does It Have to Be This Way) appeared in 2024.