A Times / sunday times BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021

shortlisted for the hwa non-fiction crown 2022

the library, a fragile history

Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes or filled with bean bags and children's drawings - the history of the library is rich, varied and stuffed full of incident.

In this, the first major history of its kind, Andrew Pettegree and I explore the contested and dramatic history of the library, from the famous collections of the ancient world to the embattled public resources we cherish today. Along the way, we introduce you to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections, trace the rise and fall of fashions and tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanours committed in pursuit of rare and valuable manuscripts.

In doing so, we reveal that while collections themselves are fragile, often falling into ruin within a few decades, the idea of the library has been remarkably resilient as each generation makes — and remakes — the institution anew.

The Library, A Fragile History is essential reading for booklovers, collectors, and anyone who has ever gotten blissfully lost in the stacks.

Published by Profile in the UK and Basic Books in the USA, The Library, A Fragile History is now available to order in paperback.

 the library well received in the press

John Carey in the Sunday Times: ‘This sweeping history of libraries is outstanding.... A history of libraries from the ancient world to yesterday, it is fetchingly produced and scrupulously researched — a perfect gift for bibliophiles everywhere.’

The Independent, Book of the Month: ‘[an] empathetic, sweeping history of libraries. The authors convey with real feeling why these institutions have been so central to human culture. [A] well-researched, intriguing story.’

The Herald: ‘where there are books, there will be libraries, of that we can be assured. Pettegree and Der Weduwen’s handsome book, which is lucidly written, mercifully free of jargon and international in its ambition, ought to be in every one of them.’

The Spectator: ‘Rigorous but riveting … an excellent history’.

TLS: ‘Staggering … Pettegree and der Weduwen’s sweeping history records the lofty highs of human culture, but just as memorable are the grubby lows of human nature.’

The Financial Times: ‘timely ... a long and engrossing survey of the library that shows how adaptable and creative libraries have been over time.’

The Times, Audiobook of the Week: ‘This lively journey through libraries down the ages is packed with charismatic individuals and bookish facts.’

New Statesman: ‘This history of the library, from the Assyrians to the digital age, is itself a wonderful collection of knowledge …full of fascination.’

Church Times: ‘Fittingly, The Library is handsomely presented … The authors’ erudition, reflected in a huge bibliography, is carried lightly, and their story is told with wit and wisdom.’

The Tablet: ‘A magnificently researched and compendious book.’

Kirkus Books, Starred Review: ‘A lively, authoritative cultural history.’

Booklist, ALA, Starred Review: ‘a robust, near definitive effort, tracing the evolution of the institution from the clay tablets of the Assyrian Empire to the wired libraries of today … so accessible and well written.’

Publishers Weekly: ‘Bibliophiles should consider this a must-read.’

New Criterion: ‘An enlightening new study … fascinating.’

Library Journal: ‘A comprehensive history … This is sure to be a new addition to library and information school curricula and will be fascinating for all bibliophiles and people who want libraries to survive and improve.’

Commentary: ‘A splendid study.’

PUBLISHED projects

See the publications page for full details

 the first history of the origins of newspaper advertising

Arthur der Weduwen and Andrew Pettegree, THE DUTCH REPUBLIC AND THE BIRTH OF MODERN ADVERTISING (Leiden: Brill, 2020)

The history of newspaper advertising began in the seventeenth-century Low Countries. The newspaper publishers of the Dutch Republic were the first to embrace advertisements, decades before their peers in other news markets in Europe. In this survey, Andrew Pettegree and I have brought together the first 6,000 advertisements placed in Dutch and Flemish newspapers between 1620 and 1675. Provided here in an English translation, and accompanied by seven indices, this work provides for the first time a complete overview of the development of newspaper advertising and its impact on the Dutch book trade, economy and society. In these evocative announcements, ranging from advertisements for library auctions, the publication of new books, pamphlets and maps to notices of crime, postal schedules or missing pets, the seventeenth century is brought to life. This survey offers a unique perspective on daily life, personal relationships and societal change in the Dutch Golden Age.

The Dutch Republic and the Birth of Modern Advertising is accompanied by a 650-page survey which includes an English translation of the first 6,000 advertisements to be placed in Dutch and Flemish newspapers, as well as seven detailed indices. This survey is available with Brill as News, Business and Public Information. Advertisements and Announcements in Dutch and Flemish Newspapers, 1620-1675.

ongoing projects

The culture of catastrophe

What happens to the fabric of one of the wealthiest countries in the world when it is overrun and nearly destroyed? How we experience disaster has a decisive impact on our collective memory and the preservation of cultural heritage, and the canonisation of particular experiences plays a crucial part in the establishment of a narrative of events. In my British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship, I explore these issues, by focussing on a single prominent case study: the devastation of the Dutch Republic in the summer of 1672, when the country was simultaneously attacked by an international alliance of four states, led by the King of France, Louis XIV. It would take the Dutch two years to liberate themselves, and another forty years to confront the power of France. This long struggle, and its troublesome aftermath, fundamentally reshaped Dutch society. This project will explore how the Disaster Year and its reverberations were experienced, remembered and appropriated by Dutch citizens, and how these processes exercised broader influence on cultural developments in the Netherlands.

selling the republican ideal

Well before the age of democracy, politics was not the prerogative of the few. This was never more true than in the boisterous public politics of the Dutch Republic, where the ruling regents were confronted by a highly literate and politically active citizenry. Despite the aristocratic nature of government, the authorities of the Dutch Republic went to great lengths to explain the law and justify their policies. Based on my doctoral thesis, I am preparing a study of these political communication practices of the Dutch Golden Age.