Multatuli: Multatuli en Mr. J van Lennep; Multatuli en de Vrouwen

In this compelling volume the reader is invited into the private world of one of Dutch literature’s most outspoken voices. The editor frames the collection by distinguishing three kinds of authorial correspondence, and shows how our writer belongs to the most spontaneous, unfiltered category—letters that flow directly from mood to page without regard for conventional style.

The letters assembled here, addressed to a close confidant and to several women, reveal the same fierce honesty that animates his public essays and novels. Far from polished pamphlets, they crackle with raw emotion, sharp humor, and the restless intellect that defined his larger works. Listening to these missives offers a rare chance to hear the man behind the legend speak plainly, allowing listeners to trace the contours of his personality and the social debates that stirred him, all while preserving the intimacy of his original, unrevised prose.