The Treasure of Freedom
A forthright and fascinating contribution to public discourse on slavery, identity and post-colonial heritage.
The Treasure of Freedom is a true story. As historian Ellen Neslo scrutinises her own family history, she presents an in-depth and evocative description of Suriname’s colonial past under Dutch rule. * This book is a compassionate attempt at reconstructing the life of one of her ancestors, Paulina.
Non-FictionPrint
Original title
De schat van de Vrijheid
Author
Ellen Neslo
Year of publication
2025
Publisher
Hollands Diep
Page count
367
Contact for translation rights
Elco Lenstra
elco.lenstra@hollandsdiep.nl
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In recounting this one single life, Neslo validates many more stories.
de Groene Amsterdammer
The book’s layered and ethically complex account stems from the author’s duality as a historian and descendant of slavery. Paulina is not presented as a hero, but as a woman who shifts between the possibilities and limitations of her time.
Caraïbisch uitzicht
Ellen Neslo
Ellen Neslo worked as a legal counsel at Utrecht University and gained her PhD in the emergence of a non-white elite in colonial Suriname in the nineteenth century.