What do you think?
Rate this book
The Low Countries: A History
Here, from British historian and New Yorker senior writer Anthony Bailey is the dramatic story of the Low Countries - Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg – from early nomads and barbarian invaders to the birth of towns and cities to the rise and decline of world prominence and finally to the dark and tragic days of World War II.
149 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 28, 2016
115 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Bailey
197 books8 followersAnthony Bailey (born 1933) was a British non-fiction writer, and art historian.
He was evacuated to Dayton, Ohio, in 1940 during World War II. For many years he was a writer for the New Yorker magazine.
He died of corona virus in Colchester, Essex, which he contracted whilst in hospital for hip surgery after a fall at his home.
He lived in Mersea Island, near Colchester, Essex, with his wife Margot. They have four daughters: Liz, Annie, Katie and Rachel.
His obituary in the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/bo...
He was evacuated to Dayton, Ohio, in 1940 during World War II. For many years he was a writer for the New Yorker magazine.
He died of corona virus in Colchester, Essex, which he contracted whilst in hospital for hip surgery after a fall at his home.
He lived in Mersea Island, near Colchester, Essex, with his wife Margot. They have four daughters: Liz, Annie, Katie and Rachel.
His obituary in the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/bo...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 28, 2018
I was elated when my husband ordered this book as a Christmas present for me. As an immigrant to Wallonie, the history of my adopted country interests me greatly. I wish, however, that I had read a different book.
This book works well if you want a basic timeline of the rulers and painters of the Low Countries. Honestly, it doesn't seem to be much more than that. If you took an unprepared high school student and sat them in a University level seminar course about the history of Belgium, I'm fairly sure their notes would read a bit more smoothly than this seemingly hastily gathered collection of facts.
The only organization which was used in the writing of this book is chronological. Yes, all of the facts within a paragraph happened within the same span of time however, often there is absolutely no structure to the paragraph itself. There were many points at which I had to set down the book and shake my head while I sifted through this student's notebook to find pertinent facts. There is not even so much as a single paragraph devoted to the conclusion of all of the information presented in this book.
One of the worst examples of this headache can be found in the first part of chapter 7. The paragraph opens with the presence of French troops in the southern part of the Low Countries during the War of the Austrian Succession. We find out about the animals that Charles of Lorraine stocked his woods with at the chateau of Terveuren. We learn that the English minister was "ruining himself over one Mademoiselle Duranay. We find out what Voltaire thought about Brussels and we conclude the paragraph with the invention of roller skating in 1760. The only common thread which seems to link all of these very different notes is that they happen in roughly the same year. That is NOT what a book of history is supposed to present, a grab-bag of facts from the same year. I have seen better put together Wikipedia articles!
I was also rather disappointed by the fact that apparently the southern part of the Low Countries stops at the Flemish-Walloon border, with occasional events of note occurring in Liège or the Meuse valley. While I can, to a large extend understand that the author could have a preference for Holland, the fact that Wallonie is scarcely mentioned is quite glaring. The author talks a lot about the difficulties posed by the various Flemish dialects, apparently he believes that all of Wallonie spoke the same French as their French cousins.
The author is not entirely to blame. Apparently a large team of editors decided that this unpolished outline was ready for publishing. There are several places where one finds anentirelineofwordswithnospaces and other sentences which are split
over several lines. These are basic things which even running the manuscript through Microsoft Word would have caught. There are more egregious errors as well, at one point the author talks of a specific work by Rembrandt, The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis. I hesitated a moment as this as I am no art historian nor Rembrandt expert but something sounded off. Sure enough, the Conspiracy involved Claudius Civilis (and I assume his cousin Julius had nothing to do with the matter whatsoever). This and several other minor factual errors could have easily been corrected by the editing team if during my casual read-through they stuck out enough for me to pull out my phone and do a quick google search to fact-check.
Anthony Bailey is a historian and a senior writer for the New Yorker. He should have known better than to publish this unpolished attempt at a textbook. As a historian, one would expect him to remain relatively impartial while discussing the effects of historic events on the lives of people from all walks of life. His own bias shows through in many places as his opinions of various painters and rulers quite clearly colors his opinion of the entire Low Countries during their lifetimes. For example, René Magritte's work is seen as surreal and witty by many Belgians but Mr Bailey states that he was "able to bear reality only by seeing in it the weird and fantastic; brilliant art, but entirely without joy."
According to one of the English teachers I had in my youth, the only books which qualify as "a bad book" are those which leave you with neither an emotional reaction nor a desire to further explore the topic. I suppose, by this standard, this must be a good book. At least once during each reading session, I had to set the book down and read a section to my (Belgian) husband so he could share with me in the urge to roll my eyes. I am left wanting more, because I refuse to accept that this is the best book about the history of the Low Countries on the market. To be perfectly honest, perhaps it is a good book because it leaves me feeling motivated that even I may be capable to write a better recounting of the history of the Low Countries as viewed from the provinces where various patois of Wallon are still spoken by many of the older generation.
If I were not on vacation right now, I doubt I'd have been able to make it through the book. Several times my husband reminded me that not only was I not required to finish the book but that it would be sad if this negative experience colored my entire holiday. I stuck with it simply because I'd already invested so many pages worth of reading time and refused to count that time as wasted. There were several moments when the only thing which kept me going was the fact that once I finished, I'd be able to mark it as "READ" and write this review. Thank goodness it's over!
This book works well if you want a basic timeline of the rulers and painters of the Low Countries. Honestly, it doesn't seem to be much more than that. If you took an unprepared high school student and sat them in a University level seminar course about the history of Belgium, I'm fairly sure their notes would read a bit more smoothly than this seemingly hastily gathered collection of facts.
The only organization which was used in the writing of this book is chronological. Yes, all of the facts within a paragraph happened within the same span of time however, often there is absolutely no structure to the paragraph itself. There were many points at which I had to set down the book and shake my head while I sifted through this student's notebook to find pertinent facts. There is not even so much as a single paragraph devoted to the conclusion of all of the information presented in this book.
One of the worst examples of this headache can be found in the first part of chapter 7. The paragraph opens with the presence of French troops in the southern part of the Low Countries during the War of the Austrian Succession. We find out about the animals that Charles of Lorraine stocked his woods with at the chateau of Terveuren. We learn that the English minister was "ruining himself over one Mademoiselle Duranay. We find out what Voltaire thought about Brussels and we conclude the paragraph with the invention of roller skating in 1760. The only common thread which seems to link all of these very different notes is that they happen in roughly the same year. That is NOT what a book of history is supposed to present, a grab-bag of facts from the same year. I have seen better put together Wikipedia articles!
I was also rather disappointed by the fact that apparently the southern part of the Low Countries stops at the Flemish-Walloon border, with occasional events of note occurring in Liège or the Meuse valley. While I can, to a large extend understand that the author could have a preference for Holland, the fact that Wallonie is scarcely mentioned is quite glaring. The author talks a lot about the difficulties posed by the various Flemish dialects, apparently he believes that all of Wallonie spoke the same French as their French cousins.
The author is not entirely to blame. Apparently a large team of editors decided that this unpolished outline was ready for publishing. There are several places where one finds anentirelineofwordswithnospaces and other sentences which are split
over several lines. These are basic things which even running the manuscript through Microsoft Word would have caught. There are more egregious errors as well, at one point the author talks of a specific work by Rembrandt, The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis. I hesitated a moment as this as I am no art historian nor Rembrandt expert but something sounded off. Sure enough, the Conspiracy involved Claudius Civilis (and I assume his cousin Julius had nothing to do with the matter whatsoever). This and several other minor factual errors could have easily been corrected by the editing team if during my casual read-through they stuck out enough for me to pull out my phone and do a quick google search to fact-check.
Anthony Bailey is a historian and a senior writer for the New Yorker. He should have known better than to publish this unpolished attempt at a textbook. As a historian, one would expect him to remain relatively impartial while discussing the effects of historic events on the lives of people from all walks of life. His own bias shows through in many places as his opinions of various painters and rulers quite clearly colors his opinion of the entire Low Countries during their lifetimes. For example, René Magritte's work is seen as surreal and witty by many Belgians but Mr Bailey states that he was "able to bear reality only by seeing in it the weird and fantastic; brilliant art, but entirely without joy."
According to one of the English teachers I had in my youth, the only books which qualify as "a bad book" are those which leave you with neither an emotional reaction nor a desire to further explore the topic. I suppose, by this standard, this must be a good book. At least once during each reading session, I had to set the book down and read a section to my (Belgian) husband so he could share with me in the urge to roll my eyes. I am left wanting more, because I refuse to accept that this is the best book about the history of the Low Countries on the market. To be perfectly honest, perhaps it is a good book because it leaves me feeling motivated that even I may be capable to write a better recounting of the history of the Low Countries as viewed from the provinces where various patois of Wallon are still spoken by many of the older generation.
If I were not on vacation right now, I doubt I'd have been able to make it through the book. Several times my husband reminded me that not only was I not required to finish the book but that it would be sad if this negative experience colored my entire holiday. I stuck with it simply because I'd already invested so many pages worth of reading time and refused to count that time as wasted. There were several moments when the only thing which kept me going was the fact that once I finished, I'd be able to mark it as "READ" and write this review. Thank goodness it's over!
August 12, 2019
Back in 2016 Cheryl and I made a trip to The Netherlands and Belgium to go on a "boat-and-bike" tour. This consisted of a very basic bunk on a barge that went through the canals and rivers, starting in Amsterdam and ending in Bruges. Each day we would get up, have breakfast, pack lunch, and get out on our bikes for 35-40 miles of biking. When we got to our destination we would rejoin the boat for dinner, and then depending on where were stopped, a night out on the town with our fellow travellers. It was quite nice, and I recommend it.
Given that we knew nearly nothing about the area we would be travelling through, I picked up this volume as a Nook book that I read in preparation, and it serve perfectly well for the purpose. I would not come here for in-depth history or deep analysis of the culture, this is really an historical survey to help fill in some blanks. If that is what you are looking for, this is perfectly serviceable.
Given that we knew nearly nothing about the area we would be travelling through, I picked up this volume as a Nook book that I read in preparation, and it serve perfectly well for the purpose. I would not come here for in-depth history or deep analysis of the culture, this is really an historical survey to help fill in some blanks. If that is what you are looking for, this is perfectly serviceable.
July 5, 2018
As a Genealogist with a lot of unanswered questions about my Western European ancestry, this book was a Godsend. Struggling to find relatives from The Low Countries before the year 1440, this history made things fall into place and gave me a few clues as to where to look. For example, the Netherlands was a force to be reckoned with in the 17th Century due to the technology and the expansion of the shipping routes. Many people either migrated to England from Scandinavia or from the Low Countries, giving me vital information on where to search next. It also gave me more of an insight into why my Dutch relatives have a healthy appreciation of themselves. Who knew how forward thinking the Dutch were and that they ruled the roost in pre-industrial times?
Recommended for anyone in the same situation or those who want an easier read than the other more tedious books on the subject.
Recommended for anyone in the same situation or those who want an easier read than the other more tedious books on the subject.
November 9, 2023
I admit that I knew very little of the history of the Netherlands and Belgium. So this brief history by Anthony Bailey was in some ways, a study of their history for me. I found the book informative and it made for very interesting reading. The author covers some of the social history of the countries as well as interactions with their more powerful neighbours, France and Germany. England also influenced their economy and Holland and England were at times allies and at other times at war with each other. I found many of the names of cities and provinces mentioned in the book unfamiliar, so maps would have been really helpful for me. On the whole this was a very good quick study of the history of the countries and easy to read.
March 10, 2023
An excellent primer to familiarize oneself with the Netherlands and Belgium (less so Luxembourg), from pre-Roman times until the end of WWII. Information is conveyed in a simple, succinct, pleasant manner and covers political, geographical, social and cultural history of the featured locations. I didn’t care for the way the author referred to “Leopold” during the Congo section because there was more than one Leopold; it’s important to specify (especially since this book flip-flops with time-frames and only makes a passing mention of it).
May 21, 2017
Good chronologic overview of the Lowlands' history. And when Willem of Orange came on to the scene, I thought, now I find out where he came from. Most other important figures are described as where or how they came to power. As the Dutch monarchy still stands and is run by a William again, I would have liked to see where the first one came from. Alas, I have to read more books, I guess.
July 5, 2017
This was a history of Belgium, Luxemborg and the Netherlands. It started with the earliest of settlers and ended with the terrors of WWII. There were too many Kings etc to keep track of and I got bogged down with the many details, but learned a bit about an interesting part of the world.
July 19, 2018
Great book.
Having lived ln and visit ed the Netherlands I was very interested ln this book.It was well written easy to read.
It brought back memzzzories of class room teaching.It can be enjoyed by any one interested in world history.
Having lived ln and visit ed the Netherlands I was very interested ln this book.It was well written easy to read.
It brought back memzzzories of class room teaching.It can be enjoyed by any one interested in world history.
Read
October 25, 2023Quit. It's Not a Narrative history.
I do not think such a brief book can encompass the contents the title refers to.
I do not think such a brief book can encompass the contents the title refers to.
July 31, 2016
An area in turmoil
Did not know much about the low countries. Enjoyed learn their history and how they developed they countries character. It was a little challenging to keep all the kings and battles separate.
Did not know much about the low countries. Enjoyed learn their history and how they developed they countries character. It was a little challenging to keep all the kings and battles separate.
June 28, 2016
Fascinating detail, for the most part, in this short history. Largely neglectful regarding the history of Luxemburg.
June 29, 2016
manages to make recent history even drier than usual. Truly shines in describing the art of the times.
July 15, 2016
Readable introduction to history in the crucial bit of the world between France, Germany and England.
December 9, 2016
Very concise but good overview of the history and advent of the Netherlands and Belgium up to the end of WWII.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews