Recollections of A Few Days Spent in Holland in August 1826

This thesis concerns a new edition of the manuscript Recollections of a Few Days Spent in Holland in August 1826. This manuscript is preserved in the Special Collections of Leiden University Libraries (BPL 3204). It was written by the Englishman William Geary who, together with his sister Sophia, visited Holland for a week in 1826. Brother and sister embarked at Great Yarmouth and after a rather uncomfortable crossing their Dutch tour started in Rotterdam. In a short period of time they also visited The Hague, Amsterdam and a few small villages such as Scheveningen, Broek in Waterland and Katwijk. Geary really made an effort to make his journal entertaining for the reader, and he criticized the dullness and wordiness of many travelogues. Some sights such as the Huis ten Bosch palace and a workhouse in Amsterdam are described in detail, but he never loses himself in endless lists of facts. Here and there Geary even adds an amusing anecdote and he describes the Dutch customs and...Show moreThis thesis concerns a new edition of the manuscript Recollections of a Few Days Spent in Holland in August 1826. This manuscript is preserved in the Special Collections of Leiden University Libraries (BPL 3204). It was written by the Englishman William Geary who, together with his sister Sophia, visited Holland for a week in 1826. Brother and sister embarked at Great Yarmouth and after a rather uncomfortable crossing their Dutch tour started in Rotterdam. In a short period of time they also visited The Hague, Amsterdam and a few small villages such as Scheveningen, Broek in Waterland and Katwijk. Geary really made an effort to make his journal entertaining for the reader, and he criticized the dullness and wordiness of many travelogues. Some sights such as the Huis ten Bosch palace and a workhouse in Amsterdam are described in detail, but he never loses himself in endless lists of facts. Here and there Geary even adds an amusing anecdote and he describes the Dutch customs and habits that strike him. In this edition the text of the original manuscript has been edited to enhance readability. A theoretical framework concerning editing has been included to account for the editorial choices that the editor has made. Additionally, a historical context and explanatory annotations are added to provide the reader with more tools to interpret the manuscript’s content.Show less

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Recollections of A Few Days Spent in Holland in August 1826