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Göteborg 2027

This page of Dutch Non-Fiction presents a selection of books recently published in the Netherlands. Our aim is to showcase the best non-fiction from the Netherlands. Most titles have been published recently and have done very well in terms of reviews, sales and awards or nominations. We highly recommend the titles on this page, and would be happy to give further advice on noteworthy and interesting books for your publishing list. For more information please contact non-fiction specialist, Victor Schiferli.

Annejet van der Zijl

In this masterly dual biography, Annejet van der Zijl describes not only their captivating careers but also the historical relationship between Japan and the West. Set at a time when Japan was completely isolated from the outside world, the story appears so far-fetched as to be the product of invention. Just one Dutch trading post, situated on the miniscule artificial island of Dejima off Nagasaki, was authorised to trade with the country. In 1823, the young German army physician Philipp Franz von Siebold, serving under the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, arrives on the island. He falls in love with the concubine Sonogi, with whom he has a daughter: Oine. Seven years later, the shogunate expels Von Siebold from Japan, tearing him away from the country and his beloved family. Upon returning to Europe, Franz von Siebold becomes the world’s authority on Japan. His daughter Oine Kusumoto, meanwhile, follows in her father’s footsteps and qualifies as the first female doctor in Japanese history. Father and daughter did everything in their power to see each other again. But when Japan was forced to open its ports in 1854, their reunion takes a completely unexpected course. The Floating World is the captivating and often emotional dual biography of an exceptional father and his equally unique daughter.<ul><li>This book shows the scale of the influence of Japanese civilisation on Western culture then and now.</li><li>A film-like account of a unique story from history</li><li>An American Princess - The Many Lives of Allene Tew became a Wall Street Journal bestseller and was selected as one of the best books of 2019 by The Guardian contributor Hilary Mantel.</li><li>Annejet van der Zijl is one of the Netherlands’ bestselling authors. Her books have been awarded many prizes, translated and adapted for the screen.</li><li>The English translation of her most famous work, Sonny Boy, titled The Boy Between Worlds, achieved international acclaim. </li></ul>

Annejet van der Zijl is the uncrowned queen of literary non-fiction.

A high-powered and striking dual biography.

Van der Zijl has been a master storyteller for over 25 years [...] a magnificent composition.

A great and balanced book.

Van der Zijl delivers a gripping account of the period, its people and the roles they were expected to play.

Written with dramatic verve and cinematographic flair.

Book

Non-Fiction

A captivating dual biography about the incredible lives of a European doctor and his Japanese daughter in the nineteenth century.

Asset

Assets

Elco Lenstra

De zwevende wereld. De verbonden levens van Franz von Siebold en Kusumoto Oine

Kusumoto Ine, the first female doctor in Japan to practise Western medicine, is a household name in her country. Her father, Franz von Siebold – a domineering German serving in the Dutch colony in Japan and one of the few Westerners to experience the land of the rising sun – enjoys the same status in the West.

The Floating World: A Dual Biography of Franz von Siebold and Kusumoto Oine

Barbara Stok

Stok portrays Socrates in her signature soft colours and illustrations of simplified figures drawn with bold, thick lines. While staying true to the original texts, Stok also features herself as a character: sitting attentively in philosophy class, making illustration after illustration and constantly questioning her thoughts. Just as the Greek philosopher so passionately advocates: ‘know what is right.’ That crucial question has become more relevant than ever, as has Socrates’ fundamental attitude: always recognise your own ignorance. Stok’s unique blend of full-page illustrations, text and vignettes takes readers through her thoughts and learning process, showing how those burning questions from thousands of years ago are still relevant to people’s lives today. This book demystifies and enlivens the fundamental teachings of this highly influential philosopher.<ul><li>Stok’s wonderful book on the world’s most famous philosopher follows her internationally acclaimed graphic novel Vincent about Vincent van Gogh.</li><li>This book presents Ancient Greek philosophy in a way everyone can understand</li><li>A blend of full-page illustrations and stories</li></ul>

The parallels with today’s world are undeniable. Socrates is back!

Stok’s captivating narrative style shows Socrates not just as a historical figure, but as a constant source of wisdom in modern times.

Barbara Stok is one of the Netherlands’ leading comic writers.
Her book explores Socrates’ fundamental ideas and why they’re still relevant to us today.

Highly personal and relevant graphic novel that brings the life and work of Socrates to a broad audience

Martijn Prins

Wat is goed leven? Socrates en het belangrijkste

With her captivatingly lucid and refreshing style, one of the Netherlands’ most-celebrated comic writers makes the work of the Ancient Greek philosopher relevant to new audiences. ‘This is Socrates how I imagine him to be,’ said comic writer Barbara Stok, who continues to draw inspiration from the philosopher and his maverick attitude.

How to Live a Good Life. Socrates’ Most Important Advice

Caroline de Gruyter

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the spectre of war has returned to the continent. This has been a wake-up call for Europeans, who now face a reality they thought impossible: the threat of a global war after eighty years of peace. Old ideas of war and violence have been upended, governments have begun to rearm, and all European countries have ramped up their defence budgets. And crucially, Europe now realizes more than ever how important the Union – unity – truly is.Caroline de Gruyter’s intensely sharp observations show how eight decades of peace have shaped our European societies, and which patterns and assumptions have become entrenched in a continent that pledged ‘never again’ and truly believed it.

Press reviews of her previous book It Won’t Get Any Better

The captivating Caroline de Gruyter takes us on a fascinating journey through Europe, uncovering the forgotten stories that are crucial for understanding today’s world. This is how you write history!

By knowing and understanding the past, we can guard against mistakes. That, too, is a reason to read It Won’t Get Any Better.

One of the most acute observers of the highs and lows of the European Union.

Caroline de Gruyter writes with great passion and clarity.

Essential and highly relevant reading about the prospect of war, peace in Europe and lessons from the past, as told by one of the continent’s leading correspondents

Zondagskinderen. Europeanen, oorlog en vrede

Following the devastation of World War II, there was a universal belief that Europe – and the wider world – would never endure bloodshed again. How have eighty years of peace affected us and this once belligerent continent? And what happens when peace can no longer be taken for granted? In Sunday’s Children, correspondent Caroline de Gruyter researches what Europe has forgotten and is at present rapidly relearning now that the illusion of permanent peace has been shattered.

Sunday’s Children: Europeans, War and Peace

Ellen Neslo

Paulina (1768-1861) was born into slavery on a sugar plantation along the Suriname River.  These are turbulent times during which enslaved Africans flee to the safety of the country’s hinterland, where they gather in Maroon communities. Paulina is a house slave who works and lives in the home of the plantation owner. It is here that she meets the man who would become her partner for life: Klaas van der Meer, a Dutch carpenter who has moved to Suriname to escape the stirrings of revolution in the Netherlands. Paulina and Klaas have three children. Klaas realises that they are not his own, but the plantation owner’s. In this bizar world, he makes several transactions to purchase Paulina’s and his children’s freedom, buying them first from the owner and then from the Dutch state. The couple go on to live together in Paramaribo, but never marry. When Klaas passes away, former slave Paulina acquires ownership of various house slaves, while her son even becomes a plantation owner. This biography, in some ways a tale of reversed fortunes, highlights how the system kept people of colour locked in forever. The Treasure of Freedom lays bare the ties between independence and ambition in a complex colonial society. Can emancipation exist without reproducing oppressive structures? Paulina’s life showcases the many nuances of colonial society.<ul><li>This book offers a reflection on the past while displaying with intense accuracy how that past reaches into the present.</li><li>Neslo’s engaging narrative style immerses the reader in history.</li><li>This book sheds light on the volatility of the long term development of slavery.</li></ul>

In recounting this one single life, Neslo validates many more stories.

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.

A forthright and fascinating contribution to public discourse on slavery, identity and post-colonial heritage.

De schat van de Vrijheid

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.

The Treasure of Freedom

Spring Selection 2026

Michel Krielaars

Michel Krielaars’ in-depth exploration of Russia takes him across and along the Volga, the soul of the country, the source of ideas and myths that have moulded modern Russia: an imperial power that has never been able to accept the 1992 collapse of the Soviet Union.Drawing on a myriad of accounts from local people, Krielaars reveals the past origins of today’s Russia and the number of historical parallels with Putin’s ongoing reign of terror.But as this biography attempts to understand the country at a deeper level, it is also simply an  exciting tale of the huge Volga river. It offers evocative descriptions of Ivan the Terrible’s purges. Draped in black habits and with severed dogs’ heads attached to their saddles, Ivan’s state police carried out terror raids on horseback, sacking and raping the noble classes that they sought to control.River of Blood is not only a fascinating story of Russia’s violent history, but it also helps to understand the current state of geopolitics. Krielaars paints a picture of a broken people. One of his main conclusions is that Russia refuses to come to terms with its past – Russians suffer from illusions of grandeur coupled with an inferiority complex. The author’s takeaways go far in explaining and understanding the problems of Putin’s totalitarian Russia.<ul><li>Krielaars’ latest book tells the story of the country’s origins, its national identity and its political mythology.</li><li>As a former correspondent and authority on Russia, Krielaars is uniquely placed to comment on the state of the country.</li></ul>

Press reviews of his previous book The Sound of Utopia

Through Stalin’s cold winter, the masterly Krielaars manages to find the faint echoes of something song-like, emerging from the silence, calling out for glasnost.

Krielaars gives a colourful account of modern Russia and possesses a profound knowledge of the country’s culture.

Ten cradle-to-grave pen-portraits of Stalin’s musicians, told with bantering brio… Krielaars has done an admirable job rescuing his lesser-known subjects from obscurity.

Krielaars reveals the bloody chapters of Russia’s history and how their effects extend into the present

Stella Rieck

Rivier van bloed: een cultuurgeschiedenis van de Wolga

Of late Michel Krielaar, an authority on Russia, felt the country he thought he knew was gradually slipping away from him. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he felt compelled to return to the past to find answers. Twelve years ago, Krielaars travelled to the source of the Volga, following the 3,500-kilometre course of the river to the Caspian Sea. He recently made the journey again.

River of Blood: A Cultural History of the Volga

Lara Nuberg

Feba Sukmana

Raden Adjeng Kartini lived from 1879 to 1904. Yet despite her passing at just 25 years of age, she is a household name in Indonesia, where her birthday is a national holiday. Her letters have even received UNESCO World Heritage status. In this collection, readers are given a candid and complete picture of Kartini’s inner world. * Trapped in the colonial society and patriarchy of early twentieth-century Java, the young and ambitious Kartini wrote letters to Dutch pen pals containing acute observations on colonial injustice, the parlous state of women’s rights and her desire for education and an independent life. ‘A woman who is truly educated,’ she writes, ‘cannot find happiness in a society that deprives her of her freedom.’ Her letters occupy the fraught space between obedience and ambition. For Kartini, letter-writing was more than a means of communication: it was a form of literary expression that allowed her to assimilate vulnerability with sharp observation. This collection features a selection of twenty-eight of Kartini’s letters. In contrast with previous editions, the letters are presented in their original form and have not been redacted or abridged, courtesy of the editors Lara Nuberg and Feba Sukmana, whose meticulous work has allowed Kartini’s words to shine.<ul><li>UNESCO has recognised Kartini’s letters as documentary world heritage due to their influence on women’s education, emancipation and the fight for equality.</li><li>The collection gives readers a candid and complete picture of Indonesia’s national symbol of women’s emancipation.</li><li>The contents of Kartini’s letters continue to resonate over a century later.</li></ul>

Kartini is a modern thinker in colonial times – a women’s rights activist and now a national hero in Indonesia. Thanks to this excellent selection of her letters, we now have the chance to learn about our past and the oppressor within us.

Kartini’s carefully crafted letters leave you breathless. After reading her last lines, you feel like you’ve lost a good friend.

Nuberg and Sukmana present the raw reality of Kartini’s words from page one, giving readers a hard-hitting, representative view of her thinking. Her words not only hold historical significance, but are also relevant to today’s society and ethics.

The long-awaited reprint of the letters by the most famous Javan feminist and Indonesia’s national heroine is finally here

De mooiste brieven van Kartini

Kartini’s letters offer not just an intimate insight into her life, but a plainly worded indictment of Dutch colonialism and the patriarchy. Her vision on class, ethnicity and gender put her among the most perceptive and pioneering feminist thinkers – and her insights remain relevant to this day.

Kartini’s Greatest Letters edited by Lara Nuberg and Feba Sukmana

Rasit Elibol

After twenty-five years, Elibol makes a brief return to the village where he had spent the first sixteen years of his life – and where he never felt he belonged. He grew up poor, one of the few children with a migrant background. Addiction and violence were part of his youth. ‘As I drove over the bridge, my head instantly filled with painful memories and images, as if I’d stepped back in time. I wanted to leave immediately. It was a physical sensation, not wanting to be there.’Despite climbing the social ladder and pursuing a successful career as an author and journalist, he feels out of place all over again. And there’s one more thing he kept secret: he was once an MMA fighter. How does he manage to reconcile those worlds? Elibol takes readers through each step of his journey.<ul><li>A profound account of  social mobility</li><li>A compelling memoir similar to Édouard Louis and Didier Eribon</li></ul>

An inside account of the fight undertaken by migrants to find a place in society. His writing touches on the raw facts of social mobility: a battle that leaves its combatants permanently scarred.

A clever account of childhood poverty, identity and the fight for belonging

Marijke Nagtegaal

Vuistslagen. Over opklimmen en invechten

At the office of the magazine for which Elibol works, he never mentions the differences between the world he has come from and the world in which he now lives and works – how he had to fight, both literally and figuratively, for his place and voice. But when he is asked to report on his childhood village, he has no choice but to write about the fight of his life.

Punching Up: On Social Climbing and the Fight for Belonging

Rens Bod

Bod takes readers on a fascinating journey to discover what sets us apart from other animals – and what we have in common. The dividing line is marked by the uniquely human power of recursion: thinking about thinking, and then thinking about that.Wolves reach decisions democratically. Ants can count to twenty. Bees and ants use forms of majority rule. And plants – not just animals – communicate with each other. But humans and animals differ on one crucial matter: the ability to reflect on thoughts. ‘The fact that we’re able to endlessly search for patterns in patterns,’ says Rens Bod, ‘is what I call unlimited recursion. And it appears to be unique to humans.’Bod explores the limits of our knowledge through the lens of multiple scientific disciplines, searching for answers that not only help us to understand who we are, but also appreciate what connects us to other living beings. Rens Bod gathers numerous – supposedly unique – human qualities and researches whether these differences and similarities originate from a much deeper pattern. At the end of this groundbreaking book, the author offers a crystal-clear answer to what connects people, animals and other life forms as well as what continues to set them apart.<ul><li>English translation of the book is in the pipeline</li><li>Successful author whose book The Forgotten Sciences, discussing the history of social sciences, was released in seven countries.</li><li>Should beings other than humans have rights? This book will change your thinking.</li></ul>

A most enthralling of encyclopaedias. Over 300 pages, Rens Bod discusses what could be the complete range of similarities and differences between people and other living beings.

A profound journey of discovery to find the essence of humans and other animals and life forms.

Lotte de Boer

Het unieke dier. Op zoek naar het specifiek menselijke

Which underlying patters explain both the shared and unique characteristics of people and other life forms? That is the question at the heart of The Unique Animal. A question that, despite centuries of philosophical and scientific debate, has never before been researched with quite such rigour.

The Unique Animal

Theo van den Boogaard

Mozart’s The Magic Flute is an outstanding opera – but it is also a commentary on gender equality. Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas was written to spite the English Stadholder-King, William III. Beethoven’s Eroica was composed to celebrate Napoleon as the saviour of the world. And Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony was an attempt to instil hope among the residents of his home city suffering under the German siege. Music does not exist in a vacuum, but is intricately linked with the state of the world. Indeed, many of the pieces we know and love have a political message. Monteverdi, Mozart, Paganini, Vivaldi, Bach, Purcell, Shostakovich and John Adams: over twenty composers feature in this fascinating journey through four hundred years of Western music history.<ul><li>An engaging and accessible read. Recommended for frequent and ad-hoc concertgoers alike.</li><li>An in-depth and enriching historical contextualisation of the pieces we all know and love.</li><li>A history lesson that also takes readers on a journey through music.</li><li>A full-of-life story of the hidden political, social and personal backgrounds of beloved classical masterpieces.</li></ul>

Van den Boogaard lifts the lid on beloved masterpieces, showing to what extent the work of many classical artists was driven by political, emotional and business motives. Tone! demystifies music and gives its listeners a solid historical grounding. Monteverdi was a not-so-secret populist; Purcell was out for blood, and Beethoven fell for Napoleon’s authoritarian charm. This book shows the timeless power of classical music, an art form imbued with the breadth of human experience and elevated to poetic heights – yet so close to home.

Tone! offers an astounding history of the last four hundred years, as described by its music. Theo van den Bogaard’s engaging style discusses the compelling links between influential composers and the societies in which they lived. Once you understand the stories behind the music, you’ll never listen the same way again.

A full-of-life story of the hidden political, social and personal backgrounds of beloved classical masterpieces.

Klank! Een muzikale geschiedenis van de westerse wereld

As Theo van den Boogard was exploring the stories behind the world’s most celebrated symphonies and operas, he made an unusual discovery. While concert halls offer a moment of escapism from the great woes of our time, the music that echoes around those chambers is steeped in criticism about politics and the society we thought we’d left behind at the door.

Tone! A Musical History of the Western World

Twan Geurts

Twan Geurts shares his longstanding fascination with Arvo Pärt’s work and life as he takes the reader on a journey to the composer’s home country of Estonia, searching for answers and exploring Pärt’s unique musical language: Tintinnabuli. Geurts visits Estonia and the places that shaped Pärt’s life, he writes about the period during which the composer’s religious compositions were banned by the Communist authorities as well as his emigration to the West with his wife and children. Pärt has since returned to his homeland. The author attends concerts of Pärt’s pieces in various countries and speaks to musicians including Daniel Reuss, Gidon Kremer and Paul Hillier, with whom Pärt experienced his world premieres. He also follows young performers who have been inspired by Pärt. The Composer of Silence illuminates the life and work of this unique composer, highlighting the fundamental role of silence in his music.<ul><li>Geurts travelled to Estonia to speak with colleagues and those who know Pärt personally. His book represents a deep exploration of the 90-year-old composer’s world.</li><li>The book sheds light on the challenges Pärt part faced while living in the Soviet Union, his emigration and his return to Estonia.</li><li>An artful mix of history, musicology and artist’s biography</li></ul>

A fascinating biographical reportage of one of the world’s greatest living composers

Yara Voss

Componist van de stilte. In het spoor van Arvo Pärt

At any given moment, someone, somewhere, is performing the music of Arvo Pärt and his world-famous compositions, be it Spiegel im Spiegel, Fratres or Tabula rasa. Pärt’s compositions and their alleged simplicity move millions around the globe. But who is Arvo Pärt? What is his life story? And what is the secret of his genius?

Arvo Pärt, The Composer of Silence: A Biography

Wessel Krul

Charley Toorop dedicated her heart and soul to her paintings, balancing her work as an artist with a tumultuous private life. A mother of three, Toorop was engaged in a string of romantic affairs and befriended key artistic and literature figures in the interwar period. She spent much time with Piet Mondriaan and was inspired by Picasso.Akin to many of her contemporaries, Toorop sought an alternative visual language – another lens through which to view society. For some time, she was inspired by the work of Vincent van Gogh, travelling to the locations at which he painted.Charley Toorop’s paintings are radically personal, with her portraits achieving global fame. Her paintings are hyper-realistic while retaining an air of the ethereal, of the visionary: they are alive with emotions, commanding a peculiar intensity and a bitingly acute sense of perception.In his biography, Krul portrays the figure of a strong, independent woman Charley Toorop was keen to present to the world while shining a light into the cracks of her doubt, confusion and self-torment. That ambivalence and struggle would mark both her life and her work.<ul><li>A breathtaking portrait of the art world in early twentieth-century Western Europe.</li><li>Charley Toorop, a rejector of conventions, was a central figure in the art community at the time.</li><li>This book presents the conflict between motherhood and art in a time when female artists’ work was all but disregarded</li></ul>

Wessel Krul set out to paint an intimate portrait of the painter Charley Toorop, and he succeeded admirably. Krul weaves an utterly coherent picture of Toorop, encompassing her artistic struggles, volatile love life and unshakeable moral compass during times of war.

An excellent biography. [...] it reads like a who’s who of the Dutch cultural scene during the first half of the twentieth century.

A stunning biography about one of the most striking Dutch artists of her time and a key figure in twentieth-century modern art.

Liesbeth van Norden

Charley Toorop. Een shildersleven

Charley Toorop. A Painter’s Life honours a woman who laid out her entire being on canvas. Shedding light on her work, her eventful life, the art world and the age in which she lived, this book explores each fibre of Toorop’s work, influences and inspiration. Toorop herself and her dazzlingly deep, visionary paintings, some of which were inspired by Magic Realism, played a highly significant role in the visual culture of the first half of the twentieth century.

Charley Toorop: A Painter’s Life (1891-1955)

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