The Embarrassment of Riches
An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Print & ebook · December 8, 1997
Schama explores the mysterious contradictions of the Dutch nation that invented itself from the ground up, attained an unprecedented level of affluence, and lived in constant dread of being corrupted by happiness.
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- Who it’s for
- Explore the Dutch Golden Age through its tensions between affluence, self-invention, and fear of corruption.
- Themes
- Dutch Golden Age culture, Affluence and fear of moral corruption, Dutch national identity
- Genres
- Benelux History, 17th-Century History, Social History
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Schama explores the mysterious contradictions of the Dutch nation that invented itself from the ground up, attained an unprecedented level of affluence, and lived in constant dread of being corrupted by happiness. Drawing on a vast array of period documents and sumptuously reproduced art, Schama re-creates in precise detail a nation's mental state.
Continue reading
He tells of bloody uprisings and beached whales, of the cult of hygiene and the plague of tobacco, of thrifty housewives and profligate tulip-speculators. He tells us how the Dutch celebrated themselves and how they were slandered by their enemies. "History on the grand scale...An ambitious portrait of one of the most remarkable episodes in modern history."--New York Times "Wonderfully inclusive; with wit and intense curiosity he teases out meaning from every aspect of Dutch seventeenth-century life."--Robert Hughes
Prosperity’s Uneasy Side
Explore the Dutch Golden Age through its tensions between affluence, self-invention, and fear of corruption.
Come here for
- A history of wealth shadowed by anxiety
- Everyday life, from household thrift to tulip speculation
Expect
- Precise detail drawn from period documents and art
- A wide-ranging portrait of Dutch culture
Where it sits
| Benelux History | 85% |
|---|---|
| 17th-Century History | 71% |
| Social History | 39% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Economic History
- Western European History
- 17th-Century History
- Authors
- Simon Schama
- Publisher
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Published
- December 8, 1997
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Dutch Golden Age culture · Affluence and fear of moral corruption · Dutch national identity
- Reading lane
- Economic History