The Hidden Force (Library of the Indies) Couperus, L.; Beekman, E. M. and Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

Couperus, Louis

ISBN 10: 0870237152 / ISBN 13: 9780870237157

Published by Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1990

About this Item

Originally published in Dutch in 1900 as De stille kracht, Louis Couperus's novel unfolds in colonial Java, where Van Oudijck, a Dutch resident administrator, governs with confidence in his own rationalism. The forces working against himâ "the landscape, the people, the atmosphere of the island itselfâ "operate outside the frame he understands, and his authority erodes as the colony's mystical undercurrents overtake him. The work stands as an early literary reckoning with the fragility of Dutch power in the Indies. This 1990 University of Massachusetts Press paperback is a reprint of the English translation.

Seller Inventory # NN-250612-shelf-8-011

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Hidden Force (Library of the Indies) Couperus, L.; Beekman, E. M. and Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander
• Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Press
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0870237152
• ISBN 13: 9780870237157
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Dimensions: 12W x 12H x 4D inches 12 inches width by 12 inches height by 4 inches depth
• Weight: 4 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

The Hidden Force is a 1900 novel by the Dutch writer, L. Couperus. In the novel, the protagonist, Van Oudijck, a Dutch resident, faces his own demise as a result of his inability to see past his Western rationalism. The East Indian people and countryside have no effect on him, and the ambiance of Java, coupled with the adverse behavior of their Javanese subjects, prove more powerful than the might and power of the colonials.

About the Author

L. COUPERUS (1863–1923) is recognized as one of the major innovators of Dutch fiction. E. M. BEEKMAN is Multatuli Professor of Dutch Literature, Language, and Culture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and editor of the twelve-volume Library of the Indies.