(Het Schaduwspel)
Simone van der Vlugt
In 17th Century Amsterdam Eva Ment, the daughter of a cloth merchant, meets Jan Pieterszoon Coen, a wealthy man, Governor General of Batavia in the East Indies. He’s back in the Republic to find a wife amongst other things. In Spring of 1627 Jan and Eva travel to the East with their new born child, accompanied by Eva’s mother, older sister and younger brother. After a hard journey they are received like royalty in Batavia. But a period of great loss and revelation follows. After 3 years Eva makes her way back to Amsterdam. How do you live knowing your husband is capable of acts you find abhorrent? The story spans an important period in Dutch history – the East India Company, Spanish occupation, plague, great riches, great drama.
‘History comes alive in this novel. She describes the life of the Amsterdam elite, the tough sea journey to the Far East and the problems in the fort Batavia realistically. Another great worthy read from Van der Vlugt.’ Nederlands Dagblad
‘In this novel Coen is presented as a man who could love and was loved himself. Also as a man who did not make war for fun, but believed that the business of the VOC required it. As a husband Coen was more absent, physically and mentally, than harsh. Not that Van der Vlugt makes Coen into a nice guy but she does manage to show that Coen was more than just “the butcher of Banda”.’ Volkskrant
Sales
- AmboAnthos NL (original publisher)
- Editions Philippe Rey France
Material: finished copy of Dutch edition (349pp)