OA

‘Elck vischt op sijn getij’

‘Each fishes on his own tide’. Jacob van Lennep and the practice of history in the Netherlands, 1820-1860

This article examines how the activities of the Dutch novelist and historian Jacob van Lennep (1802-1868) related to the practice of history in the Netherlands in the mid-nineteenth century. Van Lennep wrote historical novels as well as poetry, short stories and popular historical non-fiction. The article argues that in the course of his career, Van Lennep to a certain extent adapted his work to the developments regarding the professionalisation of the practice of history. He did this in order to be able to continue writing history for a broad audience. Van Lennep can therefore be seen as an early example of a public historian.