The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Britain and the Low Countries

Historians from Britain and the Netherlands have been meeting every few years since 1959, and the 17th meeting of the group informally known as the Anglo-Dutch Historical Society was held in September 2009, at the U. of Sheffield, UK. The theme was the very rich topic announced in the title, and this volume contains 12 papers based on conference presentations, enriched with revisions in response to both general discussions and formal scrutiny. Introductory essays are followed by contributions on the borders of empire in 19th-century British historiography, the discursive construction of the nation in Belgian and Dutch national histories of the romantic period, Dutch national museums for art and history, historical fiction and collective identity, and the past imagined in the visual arts. The editors are affiliated as follows: Hugh Dunthorne (emeritus, history, Swansea U., UK) and Michael Wintle (European history, U. of Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Hugh Dunthorne taught history at Swansea University from 1971 until 2009. He has written on various aspects of Anglo-Dutch relations, and has recently completed a study of Britain and the Dutch Revolt 1560-1700.Michael Wintle is Professor of European History at the University of Amsterdam; prior to 2002, he taught at the University of Hull, UK. He has published widely on Dutch and European history, including The Image of Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2009).